Speaking before the NAB’s State Leadership Conference in DC, Tuesday, Senator Dick Durbin spent a good portion of his speech criticizing President Trump’s recent attacks on the media and the CIA. He also emphasized the importance of the free exchange of facts and opinion, the need to give more federal funding to the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, and highlighting recent work done by 40 radio stations in Chicago.
Durbin told over 500 broadcasters in attendance at the NAB Conference on Tuesday that the federal government ought to invest more, not less, in the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. “America’s 1,500 NPR and PBS stations don’t compete with local broadcast organizations, they complement what you do. And they cost less than one one-hundredth of 1 percent of the federal budget.”
Durbin also said this is also one of the most important times to be part of the media. “As local broadcast news organizations you have a greater ability to defend the integrity of the media because your listeners and viewers trust you more than just about any other media. That means that you have enormous power in your hands. And many of you are using that power to try to find a sense of common purpose in these divided times. I’ve seen it.”
Durbin gave the example of 40 Chicagoland radio stations simultaneously airing a 30-minute “Chicago Radio Town Hall Meeting” with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “The Radio Town Hall Meeting didn’t solve all of our challenges. Chicago is still struggling with an epidemic of gun violence and other problems. But setting aside those 30 minutes of valuable airtime across 40 stations at least gave Chicagoans a chance to listen to each other.”
Durbin also says some stations are experimenting with “crowdsourcing” the news – asking viewers and listeners to say how issues affect them. “Ask. Investigate. Ask your viewers and listeners for their stories.”
You can read all of Durbin’s comments HERE.
A leftie that is nuts