Beck Bombs In Bay
What went wrong? Absolutely nothing. Put another way. Who cared?

TBTM Commentary By John Gorman

It wasn't the happy holiday weekend for Clear Channel's Cleveland squawk talker WTAM/1100 was expecting.

The station's heavily promoted July 4th Rally for America celebration, starring conservative syndicated talk show host Glenn Beck was a dud.

The non-event was implanted into Bay Village, Ohio's annual patriotic small-town "Bay Days" festivities.

Bay Village is a picturesque New England-style lakeside town 15 miles west of Cleveland.

Of an expected 25,000-plus only 1,200 in total attended the daylong right-leaning rally with a crowd of less than 300 at any given time. Some of the Beck crowd appeared to be confused and siphoned away from the adjacent and packed amusement park rides and games on the eastern side of Cahoon Park.

It's pretty clear why Bay was chosen by Beck as the city of choice for his July 4th remote broadcast. The annual Independence Day weekend shebang attracts thousands from the city and surrounding communities and would provide a built-in ready-made audience. Then there's WTAM. They're in desperate need of a promotional boost due to declining Cleveland Indians games ratings.

Bay was also an easy mark for Beck. Newly crowned Beck Hack De Jour Mayor Deborah Sutherland warmly welcomed his appearance. Sutherland, a Republican, is serving her first elected term as mayor. Her political aspirations are as apparent as the trade-out in name recognition she received throughout the day on WTAM.

Sutherland claimed that WTAM agreed to pick up all costs for the rally though it wasn't clarified as to how she would differentiate the station's cost with Bay Day, which was held at the same park.

Anticipating a massive crowd, Bay prepared for battle. The police department put was on full alert. A storm fence was constructed on the western side of Cahoon Park to control the expected masses and to keep protesters out. Neither showed.

The fine line between church and state became blurred when the mayor even commanded a parking lot owned by the Bay Presbyterian Church, a mile and a half east of Cahoon Park to set up a shuttle between the lot and the rally. Neither was needed.

The mammoth broadcast stage was better suited for a rock concert than a radio talk show. Live remotes serve as a means of providing a direct connection with its audience. Of course, it can also have the reverse effect. That's where the saying "having a face for radio" comes in.

What went wrong? Absolutely nothing. That's the point the WTAM planners missed. Put another way. Who cared?

Philadelphia, which would have been the obvious choice for an Independence Day broadcast, is home base for Beck whose show is carried on over 100 stations, most of them owned by Clear Channel. It's also carried on XM Satellite radio, whose second larger stockholder is Clear Channel. The Premiere Radio Network, the radio syndication division of Clear Channel, distributes the show. By his own estimates, Beck claims to reach 3 million listeners in all 50 states. Premiere also syndicates Rush Limbaugh and Dr. Laura.

Beck claims he was inspired to do his series of rallies after being contacted by US Marine enlistee Adam Ankario, the son of a Dallas radio personality, who purportedly complained that TV newscasts were sensationalizing coverage of anti-war demonstrations. In Beck's universe we are to believe the cozy relationship Clear Channel CEO Lowry Mays and Vice Chairman Tom Hicks have with George W. Bush didn't figure into the rally plans.

To capitalize on Beck's appearance and his estimated draw, the day's events began with a live broadcast by WTAM morning show host Bill Wills, who promoted his appearance by evoking rival morning drive host John Lanigan's name numerous times, which gave the false impression that he would be participating. In actuality Lanigan, a Bay resident, was on vacation. WTAM afternoon driver Mike Trivisonno also live remoted his show from the rally site that afternoon. Lanigan, whose show dominates morning drive ratings at WMJI has been a relentless critic of Clear Channel, the company he's also employed by.

Clear Channel, Infinity, Radio One and Salem dominate Cleveland radio's real estate.

Beck, a 39-year old self-proclaimed Mormon made headlines a few months back when he urged a nationwide boycott of the Dixie Chicks following lead singer Natale Maines' comments at a London concert on being ashamed to be from the same state as George W. Bush.

Last April, he told his loyal fans that "every night I get down on my knees and pray that Dennis Kucinich will burst into flames." That statement was in response to a Kucinich comment that "Beck has been a chief on-air organizer of de facto pro-war rallies promoted by Clear Channel, a monopolistic corporation with close ties to President Bush." Of all the presidential candidatures, Congressman Kucinich is his preferred target.

In Beck's universe, we are to believe the rallies have nothing to do with the cozy relationship Clear Channel CEO Lowry Mays and Vice Chairman Tom Hicks have with George W.

Bay Village was Beck's alleged final stop on an impromptu tour for his God and Country "Rally for America." For good reason, his web site's gallery from the rally showed no crowd shots. The Beck rally may be proof that his masses may be asses but they know when they're getting kicked.

What else can be said about Beck's dog and pony show? Two days following the rally and depending on your viewpoint, God punished Bay Village. It was for either aimed at residents for not supporting Beck's appearance or to send a message to Mayor Sutherland for allowing the rally. The city was punished with a wrathful storm that brought down trees, power lines and closed roads. Amen.

If you're expecting Congress to override the new FCC deregulations don't. Any Congressional effort must be done with a bill which would have to be passed by both houses and either signed into law by President George W. Bush or passed over his veto. It's already a done deal.

John Gorman is a 30-plus year veteran of radio. He was Operations Manager and GM of WMMS throughout the 70s and 80s, and WMJI/WHK in the 90s. Contact John via email at gmanusa@attbi.com.