According to Wikiinvest, ClearChannel is one of the top ten radio companies in the US, but the top ten only make up 45% of the market. Outdoor advertising is a different story. The top 3 firms (including ClearChahhel) control 65% of the billboard market. This analysis looks like it was done 5 years ago, so things may have changed quite a bit since then.
You know, it is a time honored tradition for big media players to have a horse in the political race. Rupert Murdoch has been shilling for Republicans for decades now. ClearChannel does make politically sensitive business decisions but I don’t think that’s much different from any other media company, and I think ClearChannel’s brand of Republicanism is less offensive than Fox’s is.
As always, caveat emptor. Buyer beware. Get your news from multiple sources. Educate yourself.
People who aren’t good political consumers will get what they are willing to settle for. The rest of us may suffer as a result, but you can’t force people to be smart. You can’t force people to educate themselves.
The election of George Bush caused this recession. His removal of sensible regulations encouraged the irresponsible excesses of the mortgage and insurance and finance industries. Mitt Romney wants to build on Bush’s idiocy, and open up regulations so that businesses can make even more short-sighted decisions.
ClearChannel, itself, is more concerned with making money than anything else, I think. They have a big debt load to deal with. They are trying to position themselves to compete on the internet. They have resigned Ryan Seacrest for $60 million over 3 years.
ClearChannel is mostly about entertainment, anyway. I don’t know if they have a news operation at all, and if so, how much attention anyone pays to them. My guess is that the kind of people who listen to Ryan Seacrest think that “news” is about rock bands and singers, and wonder why people are talking about baseball players whenever the mention of “Mitt” shows up.