Propaganda Morning Radio

I was going to post something funny today but something happened along the way from my waking up to getting to work that changed my mind.

As I was driving to the commuter lot (I rarely drive into work, too much hassle), I was flipping channels on the radio, I hit upon 99.5. It's a top 40's, rap, pop channel - like TRL on the radio. It is an entity of Clear Channel (a known conservative force in the media). For this particular music genre in the Washington DC region, Clear Channel has very effectively eliminated all unwanted competition. This means that many area teenagers and impressionable children have only 99.5 to listen to if they want to get their fix on the latest song craze hitting America. The morning talk show on 99.5 is hosted by two people, Mark and Chris.

Since the 2004 elections, my sister and I have begun noticing how right-wing Mark is...he is outspoken on his support of secret wire-taping, more abandonment of civil liberties, and the always trotted out refrain of "support our troops, don't say anything bad about our president." Chris is just a syncophate (is that the right word?), she just mimics whatever Mark says.

This particular morning they were talking about how funny members of the Bush administration could be (yeah cause causing the genocide of thousands of people in the pursuit of oil is hilarious) and they went on to talk about some poll which showed that few New Yorker's would vote for Hilary Clinton in 2008 for president and how this was good for Mark Warner, cause he wants to run for president in 2008 and that is why he didn't run for governor (WRONG - in Virginia there is a one-term limit for Governor's!). But how they wanted to see Condolezza Rice run, cause she is so pretty and funny (barf, gag).

What worries me is that they are on a channel which is listened to by so many impressionable children. Mark and Chris do all these funny antics that the kids just love it - 'oh Mark and Chris are so cool,' is a familiar refrain. So if Mark and Chris are so cool and they are saying how great G.W. Bush is, it must be true, no? Teenagers are just forming their ideas on politics and the world, they are looking for guidance from people they feel comfortable with, from adults that speak on the teen's level, who better than two morning radio D.J's who speak the language, don't condense and like to have fun ("let's send our sidekick to do something stupid like dressing up as a chicken, hee hee"). To me, it's a very subtle way of insinuating conservative political views. Good job Clear Channel.

Honestly if I didn't know Clear Channel's agenda I'd wonder why Mark and Chris spend so much time talking politics, it's anathemum (sp) to a radio station whose target audience watchs, "The O.C." and "Jackass." For now all I can do is change the channel but it is a bit scary, it all just reeks of Orwell's 1984, no? What next...Big Brother taking over the movies?