POPULAR DRIVE-TIME HOST SOLD DOWN THE RIVER.Byline: JOE GELMAN CONSERVATIVE Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, radio personality Larry Elder Laurence Allen "Larry" Elder (born April 27, 1952 in Los Angeles, California) aka "the Sage from South Central" is an American libertarian-minded Republican (he has sometimes referred to his views as "conservatarian") radio and former TV talk show host and author whose program has been effectively gagged and the implications are frightening. Disney-owned KABC-AM (790) caved in to the demands of an anonymous group of anti-Semitic, African-American renegades who have been threatening the station's advertisers with boycotts and demonstrations if they don't pull their advertising dollars from Elder's show. It was six months ago that I reported in this column that Elder was in serious trouble because of those boycott threats. After that article was published, I received a call from Bill Lennert, KABC KABC Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children marketing director. Lennert complained that the phone lines at the station were jammed with callers supporting Elder and demanding that the station stand by him. He complained bitterly that my column was misleading because it did not sufficiently reflect that KABC was firmly standing by Elder in the face of these boycott threats. I apologized and suggested that he or KABC General Manager Moreen mo·reen n. A sturdy ribbed fabric of wool, cotton, or wool and cotton, often with an embossed finish, used for clothing and upholstery. [Possibly from moiré.] Noun 1. Lasorde write a letter to the editors of the Daily News, or even write a full-fledged opinion piece expressing their support for Elder. Suddenly, there was a long silence on the phone. ``I'll have to get back to you on that.'' It was then that I realized how tenuous Elder's situation really was. Despite all the rhetoric, the management at the station was simply unwilling to go on the record that they would stand by their leading drive-time personality. I called Lennert last week to remind him of that conversation now that Elder's show had been slashed in half. He seemed somewhat embarrassed, but he didn't make any excuses. I asked him if he could arrange for an interview with Elder to discuss the situation. Again, ``I'll have to get back to you on that.'' I'm still waiting for his call. The group leading the anti-Elder campaign is known as the Talking Drum The talking drum is a West African drum whose pitch can be regulated to the extent that it is said the drum "talks". The player puts the drum under one shoulder and beats the instrument with a stick. Community Forum. The Talking Drum Community Forum believes that Elder is an Uncle Tom puppet for anti-black, Jewish interests. During an interview, the Talking Drum spokesman pointed out that KABC's on- and off-air personalities, and Disney itself, are dominated by Jews: ``Gloria Allred Gloria Rachel Allred (born Gloria Rachel Bloom on July 3, 1941) is an American lawyer and radio talk show host. She is also the mother of Court TV hostess Lisa Bloom. , Jew! Susan Estrich Susan Estrich (born Susan Estrich December 16 1952) is a lawyer, professor, author, political operative, feminist advocate and commentator for Fox News. Estrich grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts on Boston's North Shore. , Jew! Dennis Prager Dennis Prager (born August 2, 1948) is an American syndicated radio talk show host, columnist, author, ethicist, and public speaker in the United States. He is noted for his conservative political views and for his study of the consequences of secularism in the 20th Century. , Jew! Michael Eisner, Jew!'' he said with clear disdain. A number of mainstream African-American community leaders have thankfully stepped forward to express support for Elder's right to speak and have condemned the vicious campaign against him. John Mack of the Urban League, Celeste Celeste is a woman's first name. Celeste may also refer to: in Music
All of these African-American leaders have apparently come to recognize that this issue has become far larger than whether they agree with Elder on most issues or not (they don't). They now understand that, in addition to fundamental values of freedom of thought and expression, it also comes down to a question of who speaks for the African-American community? A small group of irresponsible, out of control, anti-Semitic extremists who are willing to go to any length to suppress opinions they disagree with, or the more mainstream organizations? This is definitely not a case of some disgruntled dis·grun·tle tr.v. dis·grun·tled, dis·grun·tling, dis·grun·tles To make discontented. [dis- + gruntle, to grumble (from Middle English gruntelen; see shock jock getting the boot. It's not a question of ratings, personality nuances, or any other excuse that KABC public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most spin meisters would have us believe. The fact is that Elder has brought KABC much higher afternoon drive-time ratings than it has had in years. This is a clear-cut case of a major media outlet, in the second largest media market in the country, being brought to its knees by a small extremist group waging a cowardly, anonymous hate campaign, in much the same way the Ku Klux Klan Ku Klux Klan (k  ' klŭks klăn), designation mainly given to two distinct secret societies that played a part in American history, although other less important groups have also used would run around with hoods on their heads in the South, threatening businesses and individuals who didn't agree with their agenda. The precedent has been set and the message is clear: If you promote ideas that don't conform to traditional leftist left·ism also Left·ism n. 1. The ideology of the political left. 2. Belief in or support of the tenets of the political left. left views, particularly on race-related issues, you can be silenced through threats and intimidation directed at you, your media outlet and its advertisers. So watch what you say or expect to get muzzled or fired. Simply put, KABC has abandoned Larry Elder. They cut his show in half, taking away the two most-heard hours of his program (5 p.m. to 7 p.m.). Before that, they stopped promoting his show altogether. Incredibly, it was left to individual loyal listeners to organize and promote Elder themselves. One listener, author David Horowitz, president of the Los Angeles-based Center for the Study of Popular Culture Center for the Study of Popular Culture may refer to:
The fund-raising campaign was a great success, bringing in over $350,000 from small donors, with more arriving every day. The fact that so many people have sent in so much money in such a short time is an indication of how intensely people react to the issue when it is brought to their attention. As a result, it is likely that this private pro-Elder advertising blitz will raise and spend over a million dollars during the next month, in an effort to shame KABC into keeping Elder on the air. The Horowitz television campaign is unprecedented in a number of respects. This is the first time that I have ever heard of private citizens organizing to promote a media personality through paid advertising. Isn't that supposed to be the job of the station itself? Normally, the answer would be yes. But KABC management has decided not to promote its lead drive-time personality because of the boycott threats, perhaps hoping that his ratings would decline, giving them an excuse to dump him. But that failed to happen; Elder's numbers held strong. When the Dodgers ended their season and with the TV advertising campaign kicking into high gear, he had no place to go but higher, putting him on the very brink of beating the No. 1-rated John and Ken at KFI-AM (640). One would think that a radio station would be absolutely delighted that thousands of citizens anted up hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for a massive media campaign to promote one of its lead on-air personalities. One would think that the station's management would take it as clear evidence of deep public support, if not for Elder's ideas, then at least for his right to be heard. Instead, it has expressed petty discomfort, going so far as to ask that the KABC logo be removed from a microphone displayed in a photo of Elder speaking that appears in the commercials. Shame! Shame on KABC. Shame on the timid advertisers. Shame on all of us who have allowed this to happen. Where is the anti-defamation league Anti-Defamation League B’nai B’rith organization which fights anti-Semitism. [Am. Hist.: Wigoder, 33] See : Anti-Semitism ? Where is the ACLU ACLU: see American Civil Liberties Union. ? Mild letters of support for Elder's right to speak are no longer enough. The precedent set in this case is disturbing to the extreme. Who is next on the hit list? CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Talk-show host Larry Elder is the subject of boycott, debate and controversy over his program on KABC-AM (790). Michael Owen Baker/Daily News |
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