County objects to deal with Limbaugh station

County objects to deal with Limbaugh station
Emergency-broadcast agreement in jeopardy because officials reject talk-host lineup

Officials in Florida's Broward County say they are reviewing an agreement to use Clear Channel radio station WIOD to provide emergency information such as hurricane updates to residents because the station also carries talk radio host Rush Limbaugh.

"They have every right to speak, but we don't have to do business with them," Broward County commissioner Stacy Ritter told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Ritter, a Democrat in the state Legislature before being elected to county office, also objected to talk host Sean Hannity and WIOD's partnership with Fox News.

She said such programs are out of step with politics in Broward County.

The commissioners decided to delay a decision to renew an agreement with WIOD stipulating that news conferences about emergencies affecting the county be broadcast on the station.

Limbaugh has been a fixture on the station for years, and no one raised objections when the agreement was instituted a year ago. But when the renewal of a proposal to have WIOD broadcast county news conferences from start to finish from the Emergency Operations Center in Plantation, Fla., arose, the commissioners objected.

Such broadcasts, the newspaper reported, became an issue in earlier years, when broadcast outlets didn't carry Broward County warnings, opting instead to broadcast news from Miami.

"It's a shame that people would let politics get in the way of saving lives in a hurricane," said Ken Charles, WIOD's director of AM programming.

He said the talk show lineup on the station has no relationship to its news coverage.

Commissioners didn't reject the proposal outright. They told staff members to explain why WIOD was recommended and what other options are available.

But the concerns expressed by Ritter were endorsed by commissioners Ken Keechl, an ex-president of the Dolphins "gay" Democratic club, and Suzanne Gunzberger, who worked on the board that recounted the 2000 president election.

Commissioner John Rodstrom disagreed.

"If we are going to start censoring what people write in the paper or speak on the radio or television, that's a slippery slope," he told the newspaper.

The agreement is "something we need to do for emergency response."

The communications director for the county said WIOD was favored because of its signal strength, related stations and willingness to give Broward the headlines.

WIOD posts links to storm-related radar on its website, as well as weather reports and "Stormwatch" links to flight information, the Red Cross, FEMA, storm insurance, state officials, regional managers, those who can assist with evacuations and hurricane shelter information.