Posted by
Crescen7(Regis Matejcik) on Wednesday, January 21, 2009 6:53:27 PM
During the 1/21 broadcast of the Rush Limbaugh show, Rush read a letter to a Green Bay radio station from a Green Bay teacher, who is identified only as "liberal anal teacher" (herein after known as LAT.) The text of the letter is as follows:
"Dear
Mr. Bader: My name is [liberal anal teacher] and I contacted you via
phone message earlier today. I just wanted to put into writing my
complete and utter disappointment in your radio station's choices
during President Obama's inauguration speech today. I understand that
Rush Limbaugh built his career around his opinion and commentary. But
I thought that even he would have the decency to honor such a
historical and momentous event in our country's history. I am a
teacher at a middle school in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It was highly
unfortunate that when our school decided to broadcast Obama's speech
over our PA to our student population of 1,200, our administrators
randomly selected Mr. Limbaugh's program. My students were shocked,
angered, and saddened by the interruption of what was a respectful
event, truly the most momentous moment of their young lives."
It seems that the esteemed LAT is upset that Mr. Limbaugh injected some editorial commentary during the speech. Anyone listening to Mr. Limbaugh would have to agree that his commentary, during the Obama's speech was almost non-existent, and certainly not inflammatory. However there is a peculiar irony to the distress of our dear LAT, and it is in light of such irony that the following open letter is offered:
Dear LAT,
I'm sorry that you were upset by the freedom of speech exercised by Rush Limbaugh during the broadcast of his own show, which your school chose to rebroadcast throughout the school. There are, however, several things you should consider while stewing in your victim-hood of the "random choice" of stations from which to experience the "most momentous moment" of your life.
I wondered at first why the school didn't simply tune in TV coverage, but then realized that it would be quite difficult, without having 1,200 TV's, to provide an "equal experience" for all the students. With TV, some would be sitting close, others far, such inequality could never be tolerated. By contrast, with radio rebroadcast through the school PA, all students would have an equal experience - and the school has nothing to buy. Now, only to choose the station.
The choice however is far from random.
Radio signals are broadcast in two different varieties. They can be tuned in either by Frequency Modulation (FM) or Amplitude Modulation (AM). Since most FM stations are music oriented, it's unlikely that there was any choice but to tune into an AM station. Most schools are made of steel and concrete. These materials make it difficult for an AM signal to be clearly received inside such a structure, therefore it requires a relatively STRONG AM signal to bring the students the "most momentous event of their lifetimes."
Broadcast signal power is measured in kilowatts (kW.) There are three AM stations in Green Bay. They are:
WDUZ 1400 AM (1 kW)
WNFL 1440 AM (5 kW)
WTAQ 1360 AM (10 kW)
You see dear LAT, it's unlikely that the choice stations was random. The choice was more likely made by the clearest signal strength - the 10 kW WTAQ.
It's also far from random that Mr. Limbaugh broadcasts on WTAQ. You see, it costs money to buy larger transmitting equipment and money to transmit at higher power. In order to generate revenue sufficient to maintain a large power radio station, WTAQ must provide a radio product that attracts the largest possible audience; so that they may in turn generate advertising rates sufficient to cover operating costs. Mr. Limbaugh's show is the most listened to radio show in the country, consequently he's routinely found on the most powerful radio stations in each market.
These are the machinations of free market capitalism. It is Mr. Limbaugh's popularity that creates revenue for WTAQ to broadcast a strong signal, freely over the public airwaves, so that you and your students can enjoy "the most momentous event of your lifetime" completely free of charge. In a very direct way, Mr. Limbaugh is reason that your students were able to experience their "most momentous event" at all. Without Limbaugh, it's likely that their would not be a 10kW AM station in Green Bay. In fact, if it weren't for Limbaugh, there may not be any AM stations at all.
In a very real way my dear LAT, your letter should be one of thanks to Mr. Limbaugh. Without his skill and popularity your local AM station might not exist, and without his wise judgment to air the inauguration during his broadcast show, your students might sadly have missed the "most momentous event of their lives."
Sincerely,
crescen7
ps. In consideration of the environment, please reprint this article as often as possible.
pps. What the heck does the inauguration have to do with art anyway?