[Taliesin]

Mark Levin taken off Toledo radio station for disagreeing with Ron Paul


Joe Newby
Examiner
2/17/12

EXCERPT:

Supporters of Ron Paul like to say they support freedom and the Constitution. That is, unless someone disagrees with Ron Paul - then all bets are off.

Earlier in the week, conservative talk show host Mark Levin was removed from Toledo's WSPD for disagreeing with Ron Paul, after being part of that station's lineup for more than five years.

Levin addressed the situation by first acknowledging all the program directors, managers and executives of the more than 250 radio stations that carry his program.

He explains that one of the hosts at WSPD is Brian Wilson - a man who also happens to be the program director.

"He is also a contributor of articles to a website of a gentleman named Lew Rockwell, who is a former chief of staff and newsletter editor to Ron Paul," Levin said, adding that "this host slash PD is very close to the Paul people."

Levin said he has been extremely critical of Ron Paul and have "gotten into it with some of his folks."

Levin added that he was "particularly disgusted" with Paul's newsletters. He has also called Paul's foreign policy "unpatriotic" and "un-American."

But when it came time to renew his contract with the station, Wilson decided to cancel Levin because of his political views, a tactic similar to that used in the former Soviet Union.

Levin said that his team received a note from Wilson basically saying that unless Levin apologized for comments made about Paul and some of his supporters and changes his attitudes, he would not be renewed.

"It's one thing to drop a program and to add a program, and everything in between. It's quite another to try and censor a program," Levin said, in order to control what he says on the air. Levin said that rather than wait the 90 days, "we quit," and excoriated Wilson for using "Stalinist tactics."

Predictably, Ron Paul supporters gleefully heralded the news. Keep in mind these are the same people who scream 'Freedom' like William Wallace at the end of Braveheart, and to these people, any disagreement with the Texas Congressman is considered "lying."


(Full Story)


--
A buddy of mine made the mistake of emailing Wilson to complain and got a pretty rude email in reply. I would have done the same but recieved the same treatment a couple years ago when Wilson canned the morning show host then took to the net to attack bloggers and forum visiters as little more than tiny people masturbating their tiny egos.

[GrumpyOldMan]

Well 760 WJR Detroit also carries Levin, although at a later time, and reaches Toledo just fine.
Free market baby, shut this station down and put this guy out of work.

[Bubbajoebob]

Taliesin, on 17 February 2012 - 02:57 PM, said:

Mark Levin taken off Toledo radio station for disagreeing with Ron Paul


Supporters of Ron Paul like to say they support freedom and the Constitution. That is, unless someone disagrees with Ron Paul - then all bets are off.

Earlier in the week, conservative talk show host Mark Levin was removed from Toledo's WSPD for disagreeing with Ron Paul, after being part of that station's lineup for more than five years.

Unless WSPD is owned and/or run by a government agency or supported by tax dollars this has nothing to do with freedom or the Constitution. Freedom to say what you want doesn't include someone being required to pay you to say something they disagree with.

[Mr. E. Monkey]

Bubbajoebob, on 17 February 2012 - 03:31 PM, said:

Unless WSPD is owned and/or run by a government agency or supported by tax dollars this has nothing to do with freedom or the Constitution. Freedom to say what you want doesn't include someone being required to pay you to say something they disagree with.

Yup, and just like GrumpyOldMan said, free market rules--if they lose listeners and can't pay the bills, that's their problem.


I don't think the article was posted as a "OMG, they can't do that!!! " kind of thing, just a "caveat emptor" sort of post. But yeah, you're absolutely right.

[Taliesin]

Mr. E. Monkey, on 17 February 2012 - 03:39 PM, said:

Yup, and just like GrumpyOldMan said, free market rules--if they lose listeners and can't pay the bills, that's their problem.


I don't think the article was posted as a "OMG, they can't do that!!! " kind of thing, just a "caveat emptor" sort of post. But yeah, you're absolutely right.

Eh posted more because of the rediculousness of Ron Paul supporters striking again and because Wilson is a rude SOB who personally drove me away from his station a couple years ago. Of course private businesses are free to silence anyone they disagree with politically since they are not government agencies. I am curious though what Clear Channel thinks of this since Levin brings money and listeners and Free Talk Live does not.

[Mr. E. Monkey]

It could be interesting to see how it plays out.

[Adam Smithee]

Taliesin, on 17 February 2012 - 02:57 PM, said:

Earlier in the week, conservative talk show host Mark Levin was removed from Toledo's WSPD for disagreeing with Ron Paul, after being part of that station's lineup for more than five years.

Levin addressed the situation by first acknowledging all the program directors, managers and executives of the more than 250 radio stations that carry his program.

He explains that one of the hosts at WSPD is Brian Wilson - a man who also happens to be the program director.

"He is also a contributor of articles to a website of a gentleman named Lew Rockwell, who is a former chief of staff and newsletter editor to Ron Paul," Levin said, adding that "this host slash PD is very close to the Paul people."

My guess is there's more than JUST the program director's opinion of Mark Levin involved; there would undoubtedly been one or more local advertisers at least consulted if not outright involved in the decision.

[Lyndsey]

Hopefully there is more to this story than a disagreement between a Libertarian Ron Paul supporter and a conservative constitutionalist Republican. I love Mark Levin's books...am in the proccess of reading Ameritopia now. He challenges me and helps to solidify ideas. However I do not like his radio show. Far prefer Hugh Hewitt..who is on KLRA..at the same time Mark Levin is on KABC in Los Angeles. Heck I prefer Hugh Hewitt to the John and Ken show too. Maybe I just don't like in your face radio.

[USNRETWIFE]

I love The Great One and I happen to live in radio hell. No talk shows but Rush, at a time period when I can't be by the radio. (No decent music stations either, but that's another story; thank goodness for Pandora) I do have the Mark Levin show app on my iPhone, and download the podcast at other times. And I don't have to put up with jackasses like this Brian Wilson. As for the free speech matter, I think that was used in reference to the Paulistinians hollering about free speech until they want to silence someone, not in reference to the government. It seems like the Paulistinians are like the libs, out to silence anyone who disagrees with them. I guess they are too dense to see that that tactic does nothing to win anyone over to their cause.

[erp]

USNRETWIFE, on 17 February 2012 - 05:51 PM, said:

I love The Great One and I happen to live in radio hell. No talk shows but Rush, at a time period when I can't be by the radio. (No decent music stations either, but that's another story; thank goodness for Pandora) I do have the Mark Levin show app on my iPhone, and download the podcast at other times. And I don't have to put up with jackasses like this Brian Wilson. As for the free speech matter, I think that was used in reference to the Paulistinians hollering about free speech until they want to silence someone, not in reference to the government. It seems like the Paulistinians are like the libs, out to silence anyone who disagrees with them. I guess they are too dense to see that that tactic does nothing to win anyone over to their cause.

There is a great iphone app called "tunein radio" where you can listen to any show airing across the country. I use it to listen to stations I do not get, or am unable to listen to in its time slot.

[USNRETWIFE]

Slang, on 17 February 2012 - 06:44 PM, said:

There is a great iphone app called "tunein radio" where you can listen to any show airing across the country. I use it to listen to stations I do not get, or am unable to listen to in its time slot.

Thanks!

[Hawkeyeted]

According to Ron Paul, in order to stop terrible oppressors like China from killing 100 million more of their own people, we need to play ping pong.

According to Ron Paul, if you intend to save the country and be credited with bringing it back to a Constitutional Republic, vote for only a few appropriation bills in 24 years, and earmark every nickel for the 14th District of Texas, that way, you are not spending money on frivolous things like the rest of the country.

According to Ron Paul, one must agree with the decision of Roe v. Wade because of the Constitutional right to privacy in the 4th amendment, but constantly proclaim you are pro-life.

According to Ron Paul, a “little bit of a difference” in foreign policy is stopping military support of Israel, since they are an illegitimate country in the first place, and that Israel is holding the Hamas-controlled Gaza strip as Hilter held the Jews in a concentration camp. Incidentally, Paul called Israel a “national socialist state” in his newsletters that he signed in 1987.

According to Ron Paul, not ruling out going third party is simply a reserve of judgement, since he is not sure yet how the primary race will pan out.

According to Ron Paul, Hamas is legitimate, and the Palestinians got ripped off, and cannot be the aggressors in the Middle East because they don’t have the power, and that US support for Israel is blind.

According to Ron Paul, the war on drugs must end with the legalization of all vice laws, because vice laws take away individual freedom to do what you wish, harming no one but yourself and your property. Not once has he suggested how to deal with the domestic violence and death associated with someone supposedly just harming himself.

Sewn up in a package as the potential leader of our nation, Ron Paul offers appeasement, self-absorption, incorrect and convenient reading of the Constitution, anti-Semitism, the idea that if he’s not the nominee, America deserves another 4 years of Obama, and absolute blindness of the people hurt by rampant drug use.

Given that package, Ron Paul is not really that much different than President Obama.

[Taliesin]

Adam Smithee, on 17 February 2012 - 05:22 PM, said:

My guess is there's more than JUST the program director's opinion of Mark Levin involved; there would undoubtedly been one or more local advertisers at least consulted if not outright involved in the decision.

I'm not so sure. I can't see any of the local advertisers getting so worked up that Levin had to be taken down immediately and not after 60 or 90 days (or whatever is the norm mentioned in this or other articles). In any case its the only AM station that isn't pure sports, so it isn't like they can advertise elsewhere

[GrumpyOldMan]

Tune In is awesome, and also available on your computer at tunein.com
I like the phone app a little better I can fin it streaming and choose by time left in show and I can`t online

[USNRETWIFE]

GrumpyOldMan, on 17 February 2012 - 11:54 PM, said:

Tune In is awesome, and also available on your computer at tunein.com
I like the phone app a little better I can fin it streaming and choose by time left in show and I can`t online

I've been playing with it since Slang told me about it. I think I'm gonna love it.

[furrpiece]

What is so strange about this is that Ron Paul - or at least half of his brain - is a nut case. Mark Levin has a huge following, that includes independents and even liberals.

The radio station can do as it wishes, as long as it doesn't violate syndication agreements. But, I believe this was not good judgement.

And, if Ron Paul made a fuss about Mark Levin, then he's even wackier than I thought.

[Taliesin]

furrpiece, on 01 March 2012 - 02:52 PM, said:

What is so strange about this is that Ron Paul - or at least half of his brain - is a nut case. Mark Levin has a huge following, that includes independents and even liberals.

The radio station can do as it wishes, as long as it doesn't violate syndication agreements. But, I believe this was not good judgement.

And, if Ron Paul made a fuss about Mark Levin, then he's even wackier than I thought.

Eh maybe the programming director was spead too thin. With Levin out of sight and out of mind, he can spend more time trashing Rush Limbaugh, another talker on his station who has dared criticize Paul

[Mr. E. Monkey]

Hawkeyeted, on 17 February 2012 - 08:39 PM, said:

Sewn up in a package as the potential leader of our nation, Ron Paul offers appeasement, self-absorption, incorrect and convenient reading of the Constitution, anti-Semitism, the idea that if he’s not the nominee, America deserves another 4 years of Obama, and absolute blindness of the people hurt by rampant drug use.

Given that package, Ron Paul is not really that much different than President Obama.

[erp]

USNRETWIFE, on 18 February 2012 - 01:06 AM, said:

I've been playing with it since Slang told me about it. I think I'm gonna love it.

Yeah, I love this app. I'm kinda burned out from politics and have been using it to check out new alt/underground music. Some good stuff out there.

However, I still can't quite let this political bug go, and still jostle over to some conservative talkers.