Chicago’s Killing Fields Fertilized by WGCI, Power 92.3 FM
Any artist can tell you the first time they heard themselves on the radio. Anyone can upload a song to the internet but to be on mainstream radio meant validation. The song was validated and the artist was approved by corporate executives. With this authoritative affirmation comes a built in listening audience of which is guaranteed a certain percentage as a fan base. With thousands, and even millions, of listeners and fans of the song comes influence and sway.
Boys and girls, and sometimes grown men and women, sing or rap the lyrics, emulate the dance moves, and begin to take on the characteristics of the content. The executives at Power 92.3 FM and WGCI 107.5 FM know the power they recklessly wield over our great city.
If iHeart and Dontron were responsible business owners in Chicago carrying influence over the black population, they would see the shootings and homicides escalating and immediately use their full weight in response. They would offer messaging of success, messaging of value, and messaging of life to their black audience.
Sign the Clear the Airwaves Petition Against Killer Radio
Instead, these radio stations turn it up and bang out as many lyrical shootings, murders, drug use, and pornography as they possibly can. Dontron and iHeart are no better than the drug dealer who continually serves the pregnant crack addict. The dealers know their customers are robbing, stealing, and even killing to get the next hit. And, these radio stations know their listeners are doing the same to emulate the content validated on their broadcasts.
Clear the Airwaves Project (CAP or CTAP) is involved in a proceeding with the Federal Communications Commission. We filed a class action complaint, not lawsuit, against iHeart’s 107.5 FM and Dontron’s 92.3 FM and are asking that both broadcast licenses be revoked. Below is an excerpt of our response to iHeart’s attorney.
Censorship, Racism by iHeart, and the Abuse of Discretion
Clear the Airwaves Project ("CAP"), by representative and member Leila Wills, hereby responds to the opposition filed by WGCI by way of its attorney. We assert and will prove that WGCI has indeed engaged in a pattern of abuse of its broadcasting license, has not served the public interest, has over 200 complaints filed with the FCC, and will provide evidence below.
The opposition has raised concern over possible censorship by the Commission.
The owner of WGCI, iHeart, has several other stations in the city. One of their other stations is KISS FM. KISS and WGCI market to the same age demographic, ages 12 and up. However, KISS markets to white listeners and WGCI markets to black listeners.
iHeart does not promote nor play songs that contain shootings, gang war, drug use, and porn to it’s white listeners 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They only offer this denigrating nonstop messaging to the black youth of this city.
We assert that the only censoring taking place is iHeart censoring anti-Black content for it’s black audience while protecting it’s white audience. At the same time that news headlines feature black people being murdered, iHeart plays murderous theme music. While President Trump activates federal agents to stop gun violence, iHeart plays murderous theme music. While white kids play hopscotch and black kids are shot at funerals, iHeart plays murderous theme music. While 8-year-old black kids are killed and 12-year-old black kids commit carjackings, iHeart is playing murderous theme music.
On it’s white stations 24/7? Bubblegum dance music.
This is the definition of censorship and abuse of discretion. CAP representative Kwabena Rasuli met with iHeart’s Matt Scarano, Angela Ingram, and another individual. Rasuli asked Scarano, “How can you, as a white man, play songs that call Black women b’s?”
Scarano answered, “They consider me black around here.” This answer shows Scarano believes black women are b’s and that black women think of themselves as b’s. WGCI has abused its broadcast license and has been a racist, reckless influencer in our great city of Chicago. We, again, ask the Commission to revoke their license.
Sign the Clear the Airwaves Petition Against Killer Radio
We want the same protection from WGCI and Power 92
Drug Lyrics and Broadcaster’s Discretion
iHeart raised the issue of drug lyrics and broadcasters “determining the manner in which songs depicted drugs and whether to broadcast said songs.” WGCI recklessly broadcasts drug lyrics with no regard for the effect on human life. The Commission is invited to listen to all of the songs on their playlist to determine the manner in which these songs depict drug use.
Got Promethazine (sedative) in my blood and Percocet (highly addictive, prescription pain killer)
I'm booted up off that Molly, I cover my gun [Molly is MDMA or Ecstasy]
FCC and Violence in Media
The FCC has indeed intervened on the issue of violence in media as reported in the NY Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/26/business/media/26fcc.html.
The FCC’s matter on Violent Television Programming and Its Impact on Children https://www.fcc.gov/document/violent-television-programming-and-its-impact-children contains the following information applicable to WGCI’s content:
“Just as the government has a compelling interest in protecting children from sexually explicit programming, a strong argument can be made, for the reasons discussed in Section II above, that the government also has a compelling interest in protecting children from violent programming and supporting parental supervision of minors’ viewing of violent programming.”
Craig Anderson, a professor and former chair of the Psychology Department at Iowa State University who has conducted and published numerous “media harms” studies, asserts that research on violent television, films, video games, and music reveals “unequivocal evidence” that media violence increases the likelihood of aggressive and violent behavior in both immediate and long-term contexts
There is strong evidence that exposure to violence in the media can increase aggressive behavior in children
Most of the evidence amassed over the past half century indicates a relationship between gratuitous violence and harmful effects – personal, psychological and social. While research continues on how children are affected by what they watch, it seems close to indisputable that there are indeed unfortunate and negative outgrowths from the spreading virus of broadcast violence. I recognize that it is not an easy challenge to develop rules that pass constitutional muster, but given what amounts to a public health crisis at hand, I believe it is a challenge that must be met. Serious and festering problems require solutions, so that the question here is not whether we should address the issue, but how we should address it. Former FCC Commissioner Michael Copps
There is considerable evidence in the social science literature that violence in the media can cause children to act more violently or aggressively. Particularly in light of the spasm of unconscionable violence at Virginia Tech, but just as importantly in light of the excessive violent crime that daily afflicts our nation, there is a basis for appropriate federal action to curb violence in the media. Former Commissioner Jonanthan S. Adelstein
Parents are unable to “block” WGCI as with cable television channels. Any 12-year-old, part of their target audience, can turn on the radio and hear the lyrics listed above in spite of their parents’ concerns.
It is the responsibility of the broadcasters to maintain discretion. Upon their failure, as in the case of WGCI, it is incumbent on the Commission to intervene on behalf of the people. Our great city is in a state of emergency with epidemic homicides and shootings.
We, the people, urge the FCC to revoke the broadcasting license of WGCI [and WPWX]. Metropolis