Oregon-Washington groups calls for end to 'hate radio'

By JOHN ENDERS
The Associated Press
4/24/02 3:23 AM

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Church, community and political groups in Oregon and Washington are demanding an end to what they call 'hate radio' and have called on a station owned by billionaire Paul Allen to drop talk show host Michael Savage.

Savage, whose home base is KSFO in San Francisco, is syndicated on more than 350 radio stations nationwide. He is featured on KXL radio in Portland during the key afternoon drive-time slot, 4-7 p.m.

"The content is an unbroken stream of hate and chauvinism directed against women, people of color, liberals, immigrants and in particular people of Middle Eastern heritage and people of the Muslim faith. We condemn this message of hate..." said Tom Nelson, spokesman for the Coalition Against Hate Radio.

The coalition consists of the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, the Interfaith Councils of Greater Seattle and Greater Portland, the Islamic Societies of Southwest Washington and Portland, the Multnomah County Democratic Party, the Muslim Educational Trust, Oregon Friends of the Middle East, Jews for Global Justice, the Catholic Archdiocese of Portland, Centro Cultural and several other churches and groups.

It planned a 10 a.m. Wednesday news conference in Portland. KXL broadcasts news, talk, weather and traffic 24 hours a day to an audience from northern Oregon to southern Washington.

Tim McNamara, the station's general manager, said he had received seven letters of complaint about Savage's show, five of them identically worded. By contrast, he said, he received "hundreds" of letters supporting the station's decision to air the show.

"I have absolutely zero advertiser resistance," he said.

McNamara also said he offered Savage's critics airtime on his station, but they declined.

KXL, founded in 1926, is among billionaire Paul Allen's holdings. Allen also owns the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team, the Seattle Seahawks and the Rose Garden in Portland.

"The message that KXL is sending to communities of color, immigrants, and in particular to all people of Middle Eastern ancestry and to Muslims, is that you are not wanted in this country, that you have no value and that you should not expect any respect here," said Mona Goode, spokeswoman for the newly formed Coalition Against Hate Radio.

"That is a message that we must actively and vocally oppose," Goode said.

Members of the coalition said they will ask corporate advertisers to withhold their support from KXL until the station drops Savage.

"We're going to engage with the corporations that advertise on the radio station and appeal to their sense of corporate responsibility," Goode said.

"In a sense, Michael Savage has done us a favor. He's kind of united the coalition in and of himself," she said.

Michael Nank, a spokesman for Vulcan Inc., Allen's Seattle-based holding company, said Tuesday that Savage's views are his alone, and do not represent the station or its corporate owners.

Other than that, he said, "KXL is the broadcaster, and any day-to-day decisions are addressed by the station there."