Blogs : HEITKAMP AIRS BLUNT CALL: CLEAR CHANNEL FINED $12,000
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Joel Heitkamp, self proclaimed guardian of the public trust turns out to have taken a recorded private conversation and aired it publicly without permission. What is not stated in the FCC announcement is the fact that Heitkamp edited the phone message from Sandy Blunt and played it out of context and months after the call was made.
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The FCC has slapped Clear Channel with a $12,000 Notice of Apparent Liability for airing a phone conversation without permission on formerly owned News/Talk KFGO-AM/Fargo, ND. The Commission received a complaint in January, 2007, from Sandy Blunt alleging that KFGO broadcast a telephone call from him without his permission.
According to the complaint, sometime between January and March, 2006, Blunt left a voicemail message on the private cell phone of one of the station's air personalities, Joel Heitkamp, who hosts a radio program called "News and Views." Blunt alleges that on several occasions in December, 2006, the station broadcast his voicemail message without his permission.
http://news.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/$rol.exe/headline_id=b11013
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Keep your eyes peeled as this will be ignored and buried by the North Dakota media. The Bismarck Tribune will not print or bury the item in the back of the paper, the Fargo Forum will completely ignore it, and Prairie Public Radio will be silent.
| Comments Posted: 6 | |
| me | 00:12, July 10, 2008 |
| I must be in the minority. I don't think that Joel is a bad as all of you think, for one thing, Blunt threatened his job and who is he to threaten anyone? and another thing Joel being Joel is going to get in his punches when he can. Did any of you hear the show today? He gave Blunt many oppotunities to say his peace...and no he didn't explain why he would have made such a call. I don't think he was really understanding who he was threatening... Why would anyone threaten a well know talk show celebrity? I guess it is a given that it would be brought up statewide eventually. | |
| joel lies | 16:19, July 9, 2008 |
| Joel just talked about this on the air and claims he had ever right to air this. Was unapologetic. Lied about altering the tape. He should be brought up on ethics charges as he still is a state Senator. He has caused the ruin of people with his lies. Someone should charge him. | |
| SCates | 15:04, July 9, 2008 |
| 13 hours after being informed of this the Tribune remains silent. Who would have thought? | |
| Tim Tripp | 13:17, July 9, 2008 |
| It also makes one wonder if the inflamatory rhetoric hasn't contributed to the debacle that has taken place at WSI. The question one needs to ask, is, "was it anywhere near as bad as was portrayed by Joel on his radio program" Shouldn't Joel's ethics be called into question, as a State Senator, who uses a radio program to lie, deceive, and misconstrue, and otherwise slander a person's professional and personal life to the point where they lose their jobs, are demoted,and held up to public ridicule. I can't help but wonder if Joel's stepping down from politics wasn't a forewarning of this fine. | |
| SCates | 11:42, July 9, 2008 |
| Just wondering if this is a ND Senate ethics violation. Should the ND Republicans call for an investigation? Was the call altered? Was it played months after it was recorded? Was Heitkamp trying to lie about WSI? When are the other occasion that he has lied about WSI? Still no word on this development from the Bismarck Tribune. | |
| As Usual, Rules Not Made by Heitkamps Don’t Apply to a Heitk | 10:12, July 9, 2008 |
| Below is a link to the full ruling. It appears that Clear Channel was fined above the minimum because it was clear that Joel “willfully and repeated” violated FCC Rules. Rules that are "meant to prevent nonconsensual broadcasts of telephone conversations and reflects the Commission’s concern with protecting the legitimate expectations of privacy and dignity of individuals." Wonder what Joel has to say about this? Also wonder why two days after the ruling no ND media will mention the ruling … hhhhhmmmmmmm … http://www.fcc.gov/eb/Orders/2008/DA-08-1598A1.html | |