''Save KLSD'' is a 2012 documentary film about the history and effects of

media consolidation Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is int ...

on democracy in the United States. Over the course of four and a half years, the producers attended

media reform Media reform is the attempt to reform mass media. Media reform movement coincides with media democracy as a concept and is interlinked with the agenda setting theory. In 1922, in his book, ''Public Opinion'', Walter Lippmann argued that the mass m ...

conferences, conducted research, and filmed interviews and presentations by leading media reform experts and commentators. In 2015 a one-hour version was posted on YouTube. Those involved in the film include:

Bill Moyers Bill Moyers (born Billy Don Moyers; June 5, 1934) is an American journalist and political commentator. Under the Johnson administration he served from 1965 to 1967 as the eleventh White House Press Secretary. He was a director of the Council ...

Robert Reich Robert Bernard Reich (; born June 24, 1946) is an American professor, author, lawyer, and political commentator. He worked in the administrations of presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, and he served as United States Secretary of Labor, Se ...

Van Jones Anthony Kapel "Van" Jones (born September 20, 1968) is an American political analyst, media personality, lawyer, author, and civil rights advocate. He is a three-time ''New York Times'' bestselling author, a CNN host and contributor, and an Emm ...

Phil Donahue Phillip John Donahue (December 21, 1935 – August 18, 2024) was an American media personality, writer, film producer, and the creator and host of '' The Phil Donahue Show''. The television program, later known simply as ''Donahue'', was the fir ...

Ed Schultz Edward Andrew Schultz (January 27, 1954 – July 5, 2018) was an American television and radio host, Pundit, political commentator, news anchor and sports broadcaster. He was the host of ''The Ed Show'', a weekday news talk program on MSN ...

David Shuster David Martin Shuster (born July 22, 1967) is an American television journalist. Shuster previously served as principal anchor and managing editor for i24 News (American TV channel), i24 News, previously working as an anchor for MSNBC and worked ...

Cenk Uygur Cenk Kadir Uygur ( ; ; born March 21, 1970) is a Turkish-American political commentator, media host, and attorney. He is the co-creator of ''The Young Turks'', a progressive and left-wing populist sociopolitical news and commentary program. I ...

Amy Goodman Amy Goodman (born April 13, 1957) is an American broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter, and author. Her investigative journalism career includes coverage of the East Timor independence movement, Morocco's occupatio ...

Thom Hartmann Thomas Carl Hartmann (born May 7, 1951) is an American radio personality, author, businessman, and progressivism, progressive pundit, political commentator. Hartmann has been hosting a nationally syndicated radio show, ''The Thom Hartmann Progr ...

, Stacy Taylor, John Nichols,

Richard Wolffe Richard L. Wolffe (born 17 September 1968) is a British and American journalist, MSNBC commentator, and author of the Barack Obama books ''Renegade: The Making of a President'' (Crown, June 2009) and ''Revival: The Struggle for Survival Insid ...

Randi Rhodes Randi Joyce Robertson (née Bueten; born January 28, 1958), better known by her Stage name#Reasons for use, air name Randi Rhodes, is an American progressivism, progressive political commentator, activist and talk radio host. ''The Randi Rhode ...

, Congressman

Bob Filner Robert Earl Filner (September 4, 1942 – April 20, 2025) was an American politician who was the 35th mayor of San Diego from December 2012 through August 2013, when he resigned amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment. He later pleaded g ...

, Jon Adelstein, Robert McChesney,

Bob Edgar Robert William Edgar (May 29, 1943 – April 23, 2013) was an American politician, administrator, and religious leader. A native of the Philadelphia area, he began his career as a Methodist pastor and chaplain. He served as a Democratic member o ...

, Mike Aguirre,

Marjorie Cohn Marjorie Cohn (born November 1, 1948) is an American legal scholar working as a professor of law at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego. She is also a former president of the National Lawyers Guild.

, Michael Krasny, J.W. August, Andrew Donohue, Marti Emerald, and author

Eric Klinenberg Eric M. Klinenberg (born 1970) is an American sociologist and a scholar of urban studies, culture, and media. He is currently Helen Gould Shepard Professor in Social Science and Director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York Univer ...

. Save KLSD is narrated by Bree Walker and

Jon Elliott Jon Elliott is an American liberal talk radio personality, formerly featured on Air America Radio. Business experience Prior to his radio, TV, and film career, Elliott was the chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors of multi ...

. It is produced by

Jennifer Douglas Jennifer Colleen Douglas (born 1964) is an American writer/producer and activist. She has worked in film, video, television, radio, print and Internet projects. She is the writer and co-producer of the 2012 documentary film, '' Save KLSD: Medi ...

and

Jon Monday Jon Monday (born 1947) is an American producer and distributor of CDs and DVDs across an eclectic range of material such as Swami Prabhavananda, Aldous Huxley, Christopher Isherwood, Huston Smith, and Chalmers Johnson. In 1980 Monday filmed what t ...

, and directed by

for distribution by mondayMEDIA. It was released on DVD in April 2012. The film's national broadcast premiered on

Link TV Link TV, originally WorldLink TV, was a non-commercial American satellite television network providing what it described as "diverse perspectives on world and national issues." It was carried nationally on DirecTV (ch. 375) until January 2023 a ...

on Saturday, September 8, 2012 at 2:30pm PST.

Plot

The film traces the events of 2007 when local radio station

KLSD KLSD (1360 AM) is a commercial radio station in San Diego, California, United States, broadcasting a conservative talk radio format branded as "The Patriot." It is owned by iHeartMedia with studios on Granite Ridge Drive. Programming is also ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California, owned by radio giant

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...

, decided to alter the programming from

progressive talk radio Progressive talk radio is a talk radio format devoted to expressing Left-wing politics, left-leaning viewpoints of news and issues as opposed to conservative talk radio. In the United States, the format has included radio syndication, syndicated ...

sports talk Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...

. Local activists hold protest rallies and try to persuade the owners to keep the liberal format, the only outlet for liberal talk in the San Diego market. At the time, the station was being considered for the change. It ranked #1 in

time spent listening Time spent listening (TSL) is one of the measurements surveyed by Nielsen Audio in determining ratings for radio stations in the United States. It is the equivalent of Average Time Exposed (ATE), Daily or Weekly. TSL is defined as the amount of t ...

and had a growing market share. It also explores the history of media and broadcast regulation, the move to deregulate, and the impact from deregulation that allowed for what the filmmakers consider to be unprecedented consolidation, to the point where a majority of all media (radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, and internet) are controlled by just five major corporations.Media Reform Center
/ref>

References

External links

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San Diego Media Blog
Documentary films about American politics Documentary films about the media 2012 films 2012 documentary films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films English-language documentary films {{poli-documentary-film-stub