I was your man on the scene at the Claremore OK tea party today. I used a nifty little program that allowed me to post audio from the scene via my iphone. (I know this may be a little more geekiness than you need to know, but it uploads to my AudioBoo, which is linked to my Twitter, which is linked to my Facebook (search for me there)). For your listening convenience, here are all of today’s audio reports from the scene.

^Wayland Smalley speaks to the small crowd which gathered before the event began. He didn’t know there were approximately 100 others already demonstrating. (I wasn’t in especially close proximity to Mr. Smalley, so the audio quality isn’t as good as those below.)

^Denise Clinton (no relation), coordinator of the Claremore tea party talks about the event. She also didn’t know how many more were already gathered.

^Interview with demonstrator Steven Knight

^Interview with Sherri Stone, Rogers County GOP Chairman

^Interview with Erin, 16-year-old coordinator of Claremore Homeschool Young Republicans

^Interview with Don James, retired state trooper and tea party participant

^I provide post-tea party wrap up

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KRMG FM Coverage Map (from Radio-Locator.com) - Click for big.

The big announcement from the Big KMR today is that it’s AM signal will now be simulcast on the 50,000-watt 102.3 FM frequency (formerly Spirit 102.3, a contemporary Christian music  jukebox). Though some of my online pals are underwhelmed by the announcement, the concept of an FM talk station makes me giddy (especially in that I don’t live in Tulsa proper). KRMG’s signal is notoriously weak up north (approaching Bartlesville), and both the Tulsa AM talk stations frustrate me when they have to drop their power each evening. I shared on my last WynnCast that we had applied for a non-commercial, educational (NCE) radio license for our home town. Our main format, had we been successful, would have been talk (on FM).

KRMG will be the Tulsa radio king as long as it carries Rush Limbaugh. Frankly, KRMG has a heftier overall lineup of syndicated shows (with the exception of the legend-in-his-own-mind Michael Savage). That said, I am a fan of Laura Ingraham and Mark Levin on KFAQ. But, KFAQ’s real mode of attraction (when it started up) was the passion of the live and local Michael DelGiorno and its running shows live so that listeners could participate (they even ran promos about it). Heck, in the early days of KFAQ, MDG replied to every email he received. The station’s popularity grew so rapidly that he couldn’t keep that up. That was a good thing for the station…and for Tulsa.

With the departure of John Erling (good riddance), we got Joe Kelley in the morning drive on KRMG, and with MDG heading to greener pastures in Nashville (and after the short-lived Freeman-Medlock show), we got Pat Campbell in the morning drive at KFAQ (KFAQ passing over my obvious talent). Joe and Pat are both consummate professionals and good at the mechanics of what they do, but I find them both terribly…bland. I get the real feeling they are trying so hard to walk a line of non-offensiveness that they offend me. But, I don’t get to listen to radio like I used to, so it could be all in my head.

As far as KFAQ goes, it’s not enough merely to be the other talk station in town. Newspapers are learning they can band-aid their dismal situations by cutting local reporters and filling space with nationally syndicated columns, but that doesn’t fix the big issue. Radio, in the same way, can fill time with any number of nationally syndicated hosts, many of them very good, but none of them provide the localism radio must have if it is to be successful in a market. If your national hosts are largely second-tier, if your local news team is second-best, you better out-passion and out-local-issue the other guys.

Further, KFAQ’s handling of the Medlock dismissal betrayed years of positioning. No one buys that the station that claims it is “standing up for what’s right,” did the right thing by dismissing Medlock, the only daily injection of passion and loyal opposition in Tulsa, especially so suddenly. They added insult to injury by not allowing him to say goodbye and then removing every trace of his existence from the station’s website (though it is a fairly typical practice in radio).

So, I am thrilled that KRMG is on the AM dial (and I wish KFAQ would make that leap, too), but it’s not enough merely to broaden your signal. You must broadcast something of interest to the local citizens who you want to dial in. After all, those listeners—and not the generic “they”— are the ones laying down their dollars to buy Thermal Windows, Primeaux Kias, and Inlow Tractors.

[Update @ 5:18 PM]

KXOJ, the Tulsa commercial Christian music station, is already capitalizing on the news. This via their email newsletter:

Dear Friends,

You may have heard the news already but this afternoon Cox Radio decided to change their Christian music station to Newstalk. Certainly we understand that this decision was a difficult one brought on by very real financial pressure in these difficult times. A decision of this magnitude is never easy and we do not think anyone should take it lightly. More people than ever now know how great Christian music is and for that we are very grateful.

As for us, we just want you to know that we are not going anywhere. 32 years ago KXOJ began playing Christian music and we haven’t stopped since. KXOJ represents who we are as a company and who we are as individuals, from top to bottom. In the words of Third Day, “This is who I am”.

If you had gotten used to flipping back and forth between the two stations, welcome back to KXOJ full-time. Let us know how we can serve you better and join us in putting the focus on a God who never changes.

Sincerely,

Bob Thornton
Program Director
100.9 KXOJ

The list is out, and one Wynn production made this year’s Okie Blog Awards slate of choices. The WynnCast has again been nominated for best audio blog. It’s an honor, but I frankly don’t hold out much hope of being a winner. I think we produce a good product, but there are several other very good nominees, and most of them update with a greater frequency than we do. Though previously nominated, the WynnBlog was not nominated for an award this year (or is it last year, since they are the 2008 awards?).

I did a little experiment this year, and I understand that coincidence does not necessarily indicate causality. I mentioned the Okie Blog awards nomination window was open on the WynnCast Blog (which I spend considerably less time and effort on) but not on the WynnBlog. I am wondering if mentioning that nominations are open in a blog post does anything to boost one’s chances of having their work nominated. Kind of like, “Hey, there are these awards for Okie bloggers if you might happen to know any blog that should be nominated…” *wink, wink*

Of course, there are other possibilities, too. The first of which is that there are many other, high quality Okie blogs out there. We’re not necessarily competitors as much as we are colleagues, and I am just thrilled that blogging and the grassroots societal involvement it represents is becoming such a relevant and reliable part of our world.

The last option is that the WynnBlog might just not be up to snuff. That’s probably closer to reality than the others. If you’re not nominated, can you lose?

Congrats to all the other nominees. Keep up the great work. The Awards are a fun part of what we do, but I know that’s not why any of us do it. Your participation in the culture is much appreciated by me.

That said, make sure you go vote by Feb. 7.

Whatever one may think about Michael’s ideology, you have to admit that he is genius-level smart, a great researcher, and thorough in presenting the bases for arriving at the opinions he holds. In the interest of full disclosure, I will state that I personally agree with Michael about 99.99% of the time (as to where we differ, I’m not sure he’s a full-on Fair Tax supporter yet, and he seems dedicated to Moveable Type when we all know WordPress is the far superior blog framework). That said, he would have my support even if we didn’t agree (yes, I have liberal friends, too). And here’s why:

In my experience—and I have been threatened with libel/slander suits in roundabout ways—the threat of libel/slander is typically not about responding to actual harm resulting from a malicious lie someone has publicly spoken and/or published. It is typically an effort at intimidation rooted in the fact that someone is afraid that you have told a truth about them that they would rather not have known. It remains the truth, nonetheless. And, as my competent legal adviser is wont to remind me: the truth is an absolute defense against a charge of libel/slander.

Now, as to the nature of this case, it is laughable that The Tulsa World—which I assume buys ink by the barrel—feels the need to file a lawsuit against UTW and Bates when it has ample opportunity to print evidence to counter Bates’ claims, call him a liar (and prove it if they can) and lambaste him daily on its pages from here to eternity if the Tulsa World management so desires.

More and more, people (and now publications, it seems) that have thrust themselves into the public realm expect never to be challenged and work diligently (including threatening and cajoling) to stifle any and all dissent.

The trick to dealing with bullies is to stand up to them. Make them make good on their threats. Make them walk into court and make their claims. Make them subject themselves to discovery. Make them seat a jury of twelve average Tulsans who will listen to them claim that an independent weekly and a blogger hurt their business. Corporate bullies thrive on their ability to out-lawyer you (even though some have to let staff go due to economic hard times) to scare you into being quiet and to quit rocking the boat. Call their bluff…and counter sue.

Being the stand-up guy he is, Michael posted that he would have welcomed some contact from the World so he could have made a correction—if anything was indeed wrong:

If WPC [World Publishing Company] believes I’ve written something in error, I’m disappointed that the company would file a suit against me without first contacting me with evidence to contradict what I wrote and giving me the opportunity to issue a clarification or correction.

And let’s deal with the real nub of the issue. Michael wouldn’t have near the influence that he does in T-Town if the daily paper hadn’t long ago all but abandoned any semblance of objectivity in its reporting. When you offend the politics of half the people in a conservative town, it’s a real trick to blame the resultant drop in circulation (and I am not saying there is one, for you Tulsa World attorneys out there) on the independent weekly paper.

It used to be said that a little debate on the editorial page was good at selling papers. I can’t be the only one to think the biggest step the World could have taken toward courting the many it has alienated would be to hire Bates away from the UTW (if he is even paid) and class up their editorial page with a broader spectrum of experience, insight, and opinion. When influence, power, and business trump reporting and make your opinion pages reliably one-sided, you’re not a reliable news paper anymore.

Has anyone ever wondered why blogs are so numerous and popular? It’s because among their many uses is the ability to post news, information, and opinion without the overhead of massive news machines. Sometimes it’s just possible that the news has a better chance flowing through folks who don’t depend on their medium for an income. When I post things on the WynnBlog the advertisers don’t like, I have zero pressure to modify or finesse my content—because I have no advertisers.

All I know is that I doubt there is any fault in Michael Bates, I encourage him to fight, and I will do all I can to help him stand up to the bully. I was bullied in grade school and it made my life miserable. Until one day I hit back. That day in fifth grade, my life changed forevermore. Bullies are cowards at heart, and everyone’s heart shows when the chips are down.

If we have to have an Oklahoma bloggers’ bake sale to provide Michael’s defense, I’ll make the first and last batches of cookies.