EFF has declared war on the Disney/ABC radio station that’s threatening a blogger who posts clips of their reporting to show how biased they are:
Unfortunately, the station has begun arguing (ironically enough) that criticism of their content amounts to censorship. Morgan yesterday blasted Spocko and his “stalker friends on the Internet” who, according to Morgan, are trying to “take away our free speech rights.”
Sorry, KSFO. Not quite.
While such radio personalities certainly have a right to air their views, the First Amendment says nothing about a right to advertiser-subsidized speech. Even if advertisers choose to pull their ads because Spocko has a more convincing argument — even if advertiser revenue dries up completely and shows are cancelled — it doesn’t necessarily follow that anyone’s free speech rights have being violated. Rough and tumble speech is often protected speech nonetheless, as KSFO well knows, and the “marketplace of ideas” promoted and protected by the First Amendment frequently results in definite winners and losers. KSFO, quick to call out the attack lawyers yet slow to respond to the concerns of advertisers, is rapidly embracing that loser mantle.
See also: Disney shuts down blogger for posting audio excerpts of vile radio station