looking back at the week's top stories here on our t.v. three thirty am in moscow he's here headlines dozens killed in libya's capital is nato embarks on its most intense bombing raids yet while there's been heavy fighting as rebels were new attacks on the oil support city of zawiya and syria tension is growing as the government continues its severe crackdown on the opposition security forces have retaken the northern town of jews or al-shabaab were still portably following heavy fighting. in greece at the introduction of

a new wave of austerity measures are spilling onto the streets of new crowds are those who are to secure a second round of e.u. bailouts plus the problems remain as germany and the european central bank argue over how to get private investors to interview. u.s. naval vessel in the black sea sparks outrage from moscow and claims it's a prelude to the planned nato missile defense shield for europe the u.s.s. monitor a dock in odessa ahead of joint military exercises in the area. up next a look behind the scenes of the u.s. broadcasting business stay with us here on r.t. . brooks jackson least a fact check team for the anybody school of communications the revealed misleading political ads coming from republicans and democrats alike just let me show you a few examples. well the obama. effect is that corning plant shut down because it made old fashioned cathode ray

tube t.v. two that are being replaced by flat screen technology not john mccain's phone. this mccain aide is part of a pattern. for obama's actually proposing is a tax cut for most of us eighty percent probably and a tax increase only for families making over two hundred fifty thousand dollars a year. actually we call this a pattern of misrepresentation a pattern of deceit which is something we don't often say jackson says fact checking by news organizations in two thousand and eight has been better than in previous years still t.v. stations are making a lot of money from these t.v. ads we're seeing just unprecedented amounts of cash thrown at political advertising in this election it's always seemed to me that a television station that's making so much money off of these things owes the

audience the viewers a responsibility to channel a little bit of that money back into check and whether or not what's being said in those ads is true or not why can't we just they are all political television advertising because in one nine hundred seventy five the supreme court ruled that money equals free speech. not when we caught up with congressman john two little outside his two thousand and six congressional debate with democratic challenger charlie brown what campaigns are just advertising driven advertising his her brand is very expensive. certainly electronic media is ridiculously expensive and that's where everybody wants to my point is where to respect the first amendment says congress shall make no law the bridgend of freedom of speech and the fact of the matter is that part of the meaning of that is that you can't control the means of making a speech you have to let people raise the money in order to be able to get their message out otherwise you affectively denied them the freedom of speech how much

money will you be spending on electronic media in this campaign that is a trade secret it is an open secret that nearly three billion dollars were spent on campaign ads in the two thousand. and two candidates they spent seventy five percent of their time fundraising for both candidates spent most of the race. and. where's the money go right back. to we can stop those practices by ensuring the candidates are given free airtime that's a very simple thing the gore commission that was done back in one thousand nine hundred ninety nine there is a proposal that the networks provide. and the licensees provide five minutes of airtime to candidates that went nowhere in any for year time proposal means less profits for broadcasters profits that according to the f.c.c.

top forty six percent. of mine at the back we've got an emergence of not a real man we've got a. you know america. we've got to have a good material and i know it was six degrees below zero in my note north dakota january eighteenth two thousand to seven canadian pacific train kirsty railed at one thirty am creating the worst and high. ammonia spill in history just outside the housing track. a cloud of deadly gas was moving toward the town. my not police sergeant steve goodman heard the call and went to take a look it looked almost like. something out of the chief or film it was just a large cloud and it just appeared to be rolling towards mine i. thought

. i want to rid of it. i'm going to. start and goodman needed his gas man but it was at home inside the poisonous cloud of mold wind in my driveway and i wanted her to work. it had my fourth year in the garage and it was up to me my gas mask. and i got my family out of the house now they were in extreme and. my kids are up for six and eight years old at that time your daughter is twelve ok ok i'm not my kids where you'd be in the background so they were all concerned. and i know my wife has said several times that she was scared there she was either going to sit there and watch our kids die she can't read out there or i thought she was going to die in

front of our kids. bad word of them try going to the neighbor but going outside was the worst thing to do we're all over the place we don't know where we're going to and mike johnson fled their home and got lost but they got lucky lundeen family rescued them their eyes and our know is in our throats everything was burning burning burning near them happy is to see. be blown up when she'll just find a place sit on the each other and all gets into tomlin dean died the families in. his basement no lights no heat no information for you on the radio you're doing. music dispatchers were advising callers to listen to their emergency broadcast station or series. case he did the radio nine hundred eighty but a full hour after the crash there was still nothing on k c j ok or any other radio station we don't play out over three hours what's radio station every day since

there. are of course nothing on the radio or the t.v.'s should be someone written about it but there is. here is actual footage from inside the patrol car that night listen carefully you hear the radio playing music. for. america. there were eight commercial radio stations in my not six of them including q c.j.d. had been bought by one company clear channel they were programmed from twelve hundred miles away the satellites i got to really on. just going through a toy problem casey g.b. who is the station for what at that time for emergency services only thing we heard on the radio was what time it was and the temperature right time it was and the temperature and that just gets old one forty one forty five to fifteen to

twenty zero zero it was awful only the time in town that's all we heard over and over and over and over again. and country music they want what is your emergency why not police tested the emergency alert system the week before but it didn't work that night nine one one one hundred three and cops aren't allowed to interrupt regular programming when they need to interruptions cut into advertising revenue only the president can do that. if we could have had somebody on there would have said stay in your home. we would've yes we would have our lives would be much much better we have lots of health issues now because we're out after twenty minutes because we didn't know what it was no one could reach the emergency broadcaster by telephone clear channel was consolidating all six of its stations into one building and had cut the line just one broken telephone line meant no one could reach anyone at six different local radio stations that i want to run think that there's

a man down in his driveway i have benefit of meeting him one night when i was just brand spanking new and he was my first ticket i ever wrote to and we became good friends after that time and when what is your emergency we are seeking a person who is unaccounted for it is dangerous john a great leader no one has heard of him or seen him a good friend of mine died that morning. p. so what the c.e.o. of clear channel have to say a model like this and you're trying to compete to sell your customers products which is our business we're in the business of selling our customers products and through our audience is the advertising that we sell we hope that we do accomplish it is our absolute commitment to be a public service conduit to every single market that we're in which we do achieve

in every single market that we're in. broadcasters can neglect the public in other ways take the case of intercoms radio station in sacramento k d n d who sponsored a water drinking contest hold your we to win a nintendo we think some twenty people can turn the contest emmis what we think you can you can hear it before you have to we. why are we thinking like. during the show any number of people were calling in and saying look this is a dangerous stunt someone could die and there are people murdered in our country die for rather in part because. they don't have a fairy he says or we don't recycle the stare laugh this off they carry anybody if anybody tell you they're. about i. could make a fairly yes terry either way. please ultimately

a young woman mother of three children if she was twenty eight years old i'm not mistaken. consume about two gallons of water. a lot of a get it for you ok you really don't know what do we. do with water and i had. a feeling the other. though i did this is what it feels like when you're surrounded. just hours later and her strange diet. the family's attorney asked the f.c.c. to take the radio station's license away for two years later the f.c.c. has done nothing with that intercom station instead it has rewarded intercom with fourteen additional station licenses let's look at it to wage you are going to come doesn't have the chain of command in which case why are they giving licenses or they did have a chain of command going to approve this but yeah why are we giving these people or

radio license why aren't we thinking about pulling some of these licenses away from them. today most people don't even know we can challenge stations license not one person and minor i did. hear the license. not that i'm aware of i'm not sure exactly what you mean by that. but for vice presidential candidate sarah hillary sure knows what it means that come january twentieth when i am sworn in as vice president you guys have better knock it off otherwise we'll have to get n.b.c.'s broadcast license revoked. let's go to the f.c.c. as web site to find out how one does chandler just a she said license license challenge that gets us nowhere all right you can surf around the f.c.c.

is website forever but if you don't know the secret word you're never going to find it this secret word is picked titian to marry. janie creek and steve wilson spent thousands of dollars on a blushing to a law firm to challenge w t v p's license for violating the f.c.c. is news distortion policy so we filed a challenge to a license really based on the facts that came out in our case nothing new here we filed back in january of two thousand and five and here we are. many years later the f.c.c. has not ever gotten back to us with anything have not responded they've not sent us our thanks for sending your complaint we're looking into it e-mail letter nothing zero absolutely nothing and you understand the whole premise that the airwaves are a precious commodity there are very few of them so to get these licenses broadcast licenses for free broadcasters are supposed to act in the public interest it's the

deal they make for getting that privilege that's their mandate and that's what the f.c.c. is supposed to be overseeing i haven't seen any evidence of it. ok time for a little more information about the f.c.c. five commissioners have the f.c.c. the president chooses three from his own party and two from the opposing party it was president bush set the agenda through two thousand and eight in two thousand and three bush appointee michael powell tried to consolidate the media even further and wrote rules that match the times if they got away with what they wanted to do you can involve them in a community where you have one large corporation controlling the daily newspaper radio stations television stations cable outlets. in one community their profits would go through the roof i mean they could strip one newsroom literally competition you tell me that that sounds like the market it would look good three

of the five members of the republican they were all pretty much on the record so you even before we consider any of us want to get rid of these rules or they go on their marching orders but the public land out there rose up against us we understand we got about three million people's way into the f.c.c. that's almost you know one of every one hundred americans i don't even think that many people knew there was an f.c.c. let alone how to get their information to us but they did they were really concerned about this pauwels f.c.c. approved consolidation anyway i believe we did our job and i believe we did well at grassroots media reform activists had a surprise for him so when the f.c.c. clearly didn't listen to the american public we knew that it was our time to act and so with the media access project and many other plaintiffs who joined on to our case we told the f.c.c. that we would sue them and we took it all the way to the third district court of appeals in philadelphia the court of appeals in philadelphia reversed the ifs and

since decision and directed it to conduct a do over that do over there the f.c.c. had to hold more public hearings about consolidation they held six between october two thousand and six and november two thousand and seven artists spoke about corporate media keeping popular musicians off the air really is the travesty of it is all these bands and all these people that have grown up in these communities listening to those radio stations it's just gone to me that is just the most anti-american thing i've ever heard of them out life i think it's. it's all together so it's a business trip. to europe europe. treasures in all of that. they don't treat you like the lord is about the demise of independent producers. what however the days of independent producer taking his or her created days in on a series or movie of the week to completion is

a thing of the past in this democrats and republicans joined in opposition to more consolidated media but a competitor can start a local bank or a restaurant you just can't go in and start a radio or t.v. station. because the airwaves are finite and not only are they finite. their own not by the seller but by the people but on december eighteenth two thousand and seven dogs republican members of the f.c.c. often go to to allow broadcasters and newspapers in the same town to have the same owner allowing cross ownership may help to forestall the erosion and local news coverage by enabling companies to share these local news gathering costs across multiple media forms today's order a man thirty two year old absolute panel newspaper broadcast across ownership last time the commission went down this road the majority heard and felt the outrage of millions of citizens. and congress and the court and they're hearing from citizens

once again there's a new lawsuit from the media's radio and media access project and a resolution to disapprove the f.c.c. vote by the u.s. senate we have visited this issue previously i think there is too much concentration in the media and the f.c.c. rule moves in exactly the wrong direction adding more concentration preventing more media consolidation is a bipartisan effort i look at this is not of course an issue we are culpable close of both sides in the commerce committee when this was last discussed so that there were people on the republican side on the democratic side that it's not for the miserable not so with the fairness doctrine republicans are trying to make sure the f.c.c. can never bring it back so what does your legislation go to the growth caster for you back which i'm happy to report is now co-sponsored by every single republican member of the house of representatives and this taping one democrat would simply do

this it would take the power away from the federal communications commission and to restore the fairness doctrine without an act of congress but there are new battles yet to be waged time after time and hearing after hearing people complain about licensing there must require at least half of all broadcast licenses of every market to go to a local interest local control doing otherwise violates the public trust you bell and i like to say that broadcasting is a lot like driving it's not a right it's a privilege and if i get caught driving recklessly endangering the public i lose my license just don't matter if i own twelve hundred cars. i. they don't have the right to do this on a public airwaves take their licenses it's can't even for you right now how many people here would like to see. clear channel lose six licenses for this kind of

broadcasting. cheney really took her turn at the mike at the f.c.c. hearing in tampa t.v. t. was licensed in january of two thousand and five my husband and i challenge the operating license of the thoughts on station right here in tampa we have proven in court the top ranks of management engaged in news distortion resisting had cost us our jobs more than two years later we have yet to receive any response from the f.c.c. on the status of that complaint so why is the f.c.c. ignoring license challenges it's the only tool the public has to hold stations accountable i called the f.c.c. to learn how many petitions to deny licenses they have and also the last time they revoked any stations license i have been told it since one thousand nine hundred six virtually no licenses have been revoked at all and i'm trying to confirm or

deny that the. primary it's wilson broadcast live this hour you know i'm fine thank you i'm following up on our conversation i don't know when it wasn't a week or so ago in terms of the numbers of petitions to deny. somebody is going to have it mary i mean with all due respect the only people who would have it would be the f.c.c. but it seems to me that they're not taking positions to deny very seriously if they don't even know how many they're getting very good banks. oh she is not happy with me at all. but she just keeps saying i've asked the question and we don't have that information and that is. they are having who would and she said if you want to file a freedom of information act request to go right ahead so that's going to be the next step boys and girls the press and public can use freedom of information act

requests to demand information from the government they had twenty business days to respond. in the meantime jane finally got her response from the f.c.c. as media bureau remember how for a queen to win her case the judge told the jury she'd have to prove the station deliberately tried to discourage the nums the via t.v. series and then w t v t said vincent i think we are going to indicated on the finding of this theory the f.c.c. said they were confused whether w t v t distorted the news and in any case they would not be bound by some state court's decision perpetration to deny it had been denied them panic to stand up to the c c. b. commissionaires final broadcast journalist for twenty years during a film about media issues broadcast lives on july sixth state of this year i filed a freedom of information act request with your media bureau just find out how many

petitions to deny broadcasting licenses are currently pending in front of the f.c.c. i also asked what is the last time any station ever had a license taken away. by the f.c.c. is just fine to me within twenty two days it has been four months i have heard nothing. the petition is to deny the licenses are the only means that we the people have to hold station accountable to the public interest. if you will not stand up for we the people and i have news for you we the people are standing up for ourselves this is our year and we are. gonna take it back. we're taking it back in our school system resonating with they can't just use the

incense. as you know let the songs of the slaves we're taking it back for reporters if there's an f.c.c. rule to use goes thurston moore has just one newspaper there were a t.v. station all over the fair in concord and. they were fighting for the internet before big media territory let. the boy we're putting up our own low power radio towers. remember that the airwaves belong to us and we the people don't take the media back no one will. come. through. these two people. say.

so. if you just. sit. and they come and see the school rights and. most people. seem to. go with me doesn't even one from the. these are the.

responses. in most. long. i'm right but. even. so you must love. cultures that so much as i was about to see them go i think a little more give a real rifle or a shield scentsy a great man who made history or was he merely a product of his current opinions differ widely don't know when to. the for.

wealthy british style sun.