KHUM declines to run 'Yes on Prop 8' ad

Thadeus Greenson/The Times-Standard
Article Launched: 10/29/2008 01:27:16 AM PDT

KHUM radio recently decided to leave potential advertising revenue on the table by declining to run an advertisement in favor of Proposition 8, which seeks to amend the state constitution so that only marriages between a man and a woman would be valid or recognized in California.

”It really had to do with the content of the ad itself, and not the issue,” KHUM General Manager Patrick Cleary said of his decision not to run the advertisement. “I think they were saying that they were going to be teaching homosexuality in kindergarten. It was a fear-mongering ad, and we sent it back and asked them to re-submit a different one.”

The radio advertisement, Cleary said, was similar to spots that have been running on television recently that feature Massachusetts families talking about how their children were forced to learn about gay marriage in grade school after the practice had been legalized.

One of the television ads by Protect Marriage, a coalition in support of Proposition 8, ends with the line, “Gay marriage will be taught in our schools unless we vote 'yes' on Proposition 8.”

Cleary said KHUM had agreed to run the 'Yes on Prop. 8' ad, subject to review. After receiving the advertisement, Cleary said he sent it out to members of his staff to get their opinions.

Assistant Program Director Larry Trask said he first thought KHUM should run the ad. He said it seemed like a free speech issue as the station had already run ads opposing Proposition 8 and public service announcements celebrating the Supreme Court ruling that cleared the way for same-sex couples to marry.
”There were a number of us, myself included, who felt that if we ran the 'No on 8' ad, then we had to run the 'Yes on 8' ad,” Trask said, but added that he soon changed his mind. “As the debate continued and we had more discussions, I became of the opinion that we were talking about more than a political issue.”

Trask said he soon came to believe this was really a human rights issue, after someone raised the argument that if Proposition 8 sought to define marriage as only between couples of the same race the station would be ethically obligated not to run the spot.

Ultimately, however, Cleary said he made the final call and made it based on the content of the advertisement itself.

”If they sent us an ad that talked about how they viewed marriage as being something between a man and a woman, I would have run it,” Cleary said. “But, I'm not going to run something that I felt was fear mongering. It was a hard decision because it was a lot of money.”

Cleary said the group that paid to run the ad has not submitted another one.

”I heard they weren't very happy with us, but I never heard anything beyond that,” he said.

Trask said it is very rare for the station to turn down an advertisement, as KHUM has a tight operating budget and needs all the revenue it can get.

”We're not really in the financial position to turn down advertising,” he said. “Generally speaking, when people approach us to buy advertising content, we sell it to them.”

Gene Welling, who has worked with an organization distributing 'Yes on 8' signs, said he doesn't have a problem with KHUM declining to run the ad, although he questions Cleary's reasoning.

”I think any radio station or television station is free to do what they want,” Welling said. “I think it's rather disingenuous to say it borders on hate, what happens then is anything we disagree with becomes hatred or bigotry.

”In my mind,” Welling continued,” this vote yes on 8 is not a political issue but a moral issue, and it's something that each individual has to decide for themselves. What they do on their radio station, I can't argue with. If I get upset with them, I can decide not to listen to them -- that's my prerogative.”

Over at Humboldt State University, assistant professor of journalism Victoria Sama, who teaches a mass media ethics course, had a similar take.

”It's an entertainment station, so they have every right to do what they want,” Sama said. “If it were NPR, it might be a little different. But, it's KHUM -- their motto is 'Radio without the rules.'”

Sama said the question of whether KHUM has an obligation to be fair and allow both sides of any given issue to run their ads is ultimately one for the station's listeners to decide.

Television and radio station managers decline to run ads and programming all the time, Sama said, and have every right to do so.

”They're not journalists,” she said. “It's not a question of journalism principles -- it's just a question of whether an entertainment station has an obligation to be fair, and that's a question to be debated by my student philosophers.”