............"Thurston County Superior Court directed the critics to fully disclose their donors' identities immediately or forego their contributions, and ordered that KVI Radio report the value of two talk show hosts' comments promoting rollback Initiative 912.
The critics' lawyers said the KVI ruling would have a chilling effect on political commentary and editorials in the media. They said an appeal is possible.
KVI and Fisher Broadcasting executives were aghast at the ruling. They said talk show hosts John Carlson and Kirby Wilbur were doing only what political commentators and newspaper editorial pages do across America - discussing issues and recommending action.
"Each host is entitled to his own opinion on the issues of the day," said Dennis Kelly, a top official at Fisher Broadcasting, the KVI parent company. "We don't agree with the premise of the ruling. If the judge's ruling holds, it will have a chilling effect on talk and news shows across America. It was a really unwise ruling."
Fisher's vice president and general manager, Rob Dunlop, said that even if the hosts crossed a line into direct campaign work, a notion he rejected, the station would have no way to quantify the commercial value....."
http://www.komotv.com/stories/37740.htm
The critics' lawyers said the KVI ruling would have a chilling effect on political commentary and editorials in the media. They said an appeal is possible.
KVI and Fisher Broadcasting executives were aghast at the ruling. They said talk show hosts John Carlson and Kirby Wilbur were doing only what political commentators and newspaper editorial pages do across America - discussing issues and recommending action.
"Each host is entitled to his own opinion on the issues of the day," said Dennis Kelly, a top official at Fisher Broadcasting, the KVI parent company. "We don't agree with the premise of the ruling. If the judge's ruling holds, it will have a chilling effect on talk and news shows across America. It was a really unwise ruling."
Fisher's vice president and general manager, Rob Dunlop, said that even if the hosts crossed a line into direct campaign work, a notion he rejected, the station would have no way to quantify the commercial value....."
http://www.komotv.com/stories/37740.htm
