As nation watches Denver, Obama campaign muscles Chicago station over ex-radical Ayres

In a surprising attempt to stifle broadcast criticism of its candidate, the presidential campaign of freshman Illinois senator Barack Obama is organizing supporters to confront Chicago's WGN radio station for having a critic of the Illinois Democrat on its main evening discussion program.

"WGN radio is giving right-wing hatchet man Stanley Kurtz a forum to air his baseless, fear-mongering terrorist smears," Obama's campaign wrote in an e-mail sent to supporters. "He's currently scheduled to spend a solid two-hour block from 9:00 to 11:00 p.m. (Wednesday night) pushing lies, distortions, and manipulations about Barack and University of Illinois professor William Ayers."

Kurtz, a conservative writer, recently wrote an article for the National Review that examined Obama's ties to Ayers, a former 1960s radical who helped found a protest group that advocated violence.

The magazine was blocked in its initial attempts to obtain records from the University of Illinois at Chicago regarding the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, a school reform project that Obama chaired and Ayers co-founded.

As The Ticket reported here, the school later reserved its position and opened the records Tuesday. Media organizations are poring over scores of boxes of documents to study the Obama-Ayres relationship, which the senator has described as merely casual.

Obama's campaign is urging supporters to call the radio station to complain. "Tell WGN that....

...by providing Kurtz with airtime, they are legitimizing baseless attacks from a smear-merchant and lowering the standards of political discourse," the note said.

WGN, like the Chicago Tribune and The Times, is owned by Tribune Co. As a clear-channel station at 720 on the AM dial, WGN's signal reaches dozens of states. Such efforts to prevent programs often backfire by calling even more public attention to the controversy.

"It is absolutely unacceptable that WGN would give a slimy character assassin like Kurtz time for his divisive, destructive ranting on our public airwaves," the note continued. "At the very least, they should offer sane, honest rebuttal to every one of Kurtz's lies."

Zack Christenson, executive producer of the longrunning interview program "Extension 720 with Milt Rosenburg," said the response from Obama supporters was strong. Rosenberg like Ayres is a college professor.

"I would say this is the biggest response we've ever got from a campaign or a candidate," said Christenson. "This is really unprecedented with the show, the way that people are flooding the calls and our email boxes."

Christenson also stressed that the Obama campaign was invited to send a representative to appear on the show to balance the discussion of the newly-opened documents. But the campaign headquarters just down Michigan Avenue from the station refused the request. This is not the first time Obama's organization has sought to steer supporters to influence a broadcast outlet airing criticism.

Our colleagues John McCormick and Steve Schmadeke have more details on this brewing controversy at the Swamp.

--Andrew Malcolm

Join those receiving every Ticket item -- plus special offline tweets from The Ticket's writers -- sent directly to your cellphone. To register for free instant Twitter updates from The Ticket, go here to "follow" us.

Comments

[Mul]

"As The Ticket reported here, the school later reserved its position"

"Reserved"? Tell me Sam Zell didn't sell the copy desk as an independent property.

[njartist]

Is this what we face if this guy is elected: brown shirts at the media's door if they dare to criticize the LORD OBAMA?

[Joanne600]

Joe Stalin would be proud of the way the Obama campaign seeks to silence dissent. Why didn't they send a representative and properly debate Stanley Kurtz? I believe the answer is that Kurtz has the proof that Obama and Ayers are indeed thisclose.

[Timothy L. Pennell]

Where have I heard something like this before? Oh yeah, when the CLINTON Administration came down HARD on ABC, for running their 'Docu-Drama' on the lead up to 911. By the way...Anyone seen that little ditty in Blockbuster? Hmmm. Now I wonder why it NEVER WENT TO DVD? Read 'Liberal Fascism'. Remember when the CLINTON Administration made sure that their little toady, George Stephanyopolis, got EQUAL TIME, whenever that F.B.I. agent was on television, pluuging his book? You know, like the way 60 Minutes makes sure there's a BUSH Administration guy there, when THEIR disgruntled employees are pushing their tome. Oh,wait. THEY DON"T HAVE ANY BUSH OFFICIALS THERE. Read 'Liberal Fascism'. So why is THIS little episode, anything new? Read 'Liberal Fascism'. And if tis "young Black Boy" gets in, you can expect this, in SPADES. Read 'Liberal Fascism'.

[Mary MacKenzie]

This reaction by the Obama campaign is the scariest thing I have heard yet about BO. If he can get so worked up over standard campaign rhetoric, what in the world will he do if he is elected President? Eventually the press will turn on him (they always do) and he will have the power and authority to do anything he wants in order to supress criticism. How frightening is that? This reaction by Obama tends to give more credence to the accusations, not less. Of course the press could do its job right now by really checking the facts on this whole Ayers-Dohrn connection. They probably wont because they dont want to do anything to mess up Obamas mystique. If this was a Republican with doubtful connections, it would be on the front page of every major newspaper in the world. Luckily the American people are smart enough to sniff out the truth for themselves, no matter who it helps or hurts.

[Michael McNeil]

Ayers is an ex-radical? Not according to his very own web site. Notice there Ayers' full-throated paean to Hugo Chavez of Venezuela — from November 2006, less than two years ago; hardly ancient history — whereby in addition to lauding Chavez as having created "something truly new and deeply humane," Ayers further declares:

"'Let us try revolution and see what it will do now.' I walked out of jail and into my first teaching position — and from that day until this I’ve thought of myself as a teacher [...]. La educacion es revolucion!"

Read the whole thing and see if I've distorted his essential context. (I think not.)

Since embedded links (and even special characters like '&'ed quotes) don't work on your site's comments (at least not in preview; kind of lame), I'll state those links explicitly:
http://billayers.wordpress.com/
http://billayers.wordpress.com/2006/11/

[Mitchell in NY]

You know, the Swiftboaters destroyed Kerry, an honest man, with lies. Well, this time around we should all use our right to free speech to protest against trash talk pretending to be journalism. We all know what is going on here, guilt by association. Obama does not support extreme left wing groups. (McCain, on the other hand, has some pretty crazy neo-con friends these days, as well as Rove people working for him.)

"A Dozen Reasons Why Obama will be the Next President: Money-Back Guarantee”
http://msa4.wordpress.com/

[CindyP]

Well, there we have it another example of democrats trying to shut done free speech.
Barry is a fraud, wait not only a fraud but an anti-American, anti-white anti-semitic bigot.
God help us if he is elected.

[Exile]

Why is this surprising? Obama is a typical Fascist who hates free speech.

[J Davis]

Gee, just like the Nazis..Imagine that!...

[Dan]

Good for Obama. The electorate is sick and tired of these swiftboat LIES AND SMEARS. If these right wing hatchet men had something of any significance they would have thrown it at him before now. I am tired of Dems being cowed by the mainstream media. Look what it has done to our country. There is no truth in media and certainly not from WGN part of a conglomerate owned by a conservative paper the Chicago Tribune. As the big 4 networks had low ratings for the convention, but cable had soaring double digit numbers, people are turning away from mainstream media and turning you off. GOOD FOR OBAMA.

[Ronald Joseph]

I know that freedom of speach is a constitutional right. That applies to both sides of an issue. News media that gives a platform to people to spread outright lies about a politician such as Barack Obama are the slime that will end up destroying out country if not corrected. Ok give the SOB a platform but put someone with him that will point out how baseless his ideas are.

[Catherine]

I realize the significance of holding this interview during Obama's speech but still feel it would have been much more effective if it had been done on the Don Wade & Roma Show.

[eyedoc]

Obviously the Obama campaign is absolutely terrified about the public finding out about his relationship with Ayers. They were invited to send somebody from their campaign to debate Kurtz, but they refused because they understood that what Kurtz had to say was indisputable. So instead they try this childish prank to try to disrupt the radio show. Who's running the Obama campaign, a bunch of 12 year olds?

[dka]

The average DEM does not have enough brain cells to digest this!

[Totto]

This is exactly why media monopolies must be broken up. WGN, owned by the Chicago Tribune (World's Greatest Newspaper") also owns the Los Angeles Times and is a prime example of what the current Administration would like to exist coast to coast. A media that follows the daily talking points of the RNC
is not in the interest of the American people. To have only one viewpoint blanketing this country is why so many believe the lies of the right. No where else in the western world are the citizens of a country so propagandized as they are in this country.

[Brendan]

God, could this article have any more sneak words? There is a difference between criticizing Obama and smearing him. Just as no one should be allowed to air baseless accusations against John McCain, no one should be allowed to do so for Obama.

I'm not saying stifle free speech. I mean, that's what blogs are for, right? But when a credible news organization like WGN lends its own credibility to a whack-job like Stanley Kurtz (and yes, he IS a whack-job), it needs to be called out.

This article, by the way, is an opinion piece. For the LA Times to lend its own credibility to an opinion blog really demeans the meaning of "news."

[heebie]

interesting how free speech only applies to the left.

[J.D.]

Its too bad that this blog has adopted the wrong tone about freedom of expression, to be in support of four more years of George W Bush, and ultimately follow the same voices that pre-empted the civil rights movement all these years leading up to this moment. You are on the wrong side of history.

[JGxHitzert]

Saying that the Weathman advocated violence is a bit misleading. Under the direction of Bernadine Dohrn and William Ayers they advocated destruction of property. Indeed these two lost favor because they were against hurting people.

In an aside Gandhi believed that his approach to Civil Disobedience was violent. He believed that forcing the hands of the oppressor to commit violence was in fact a violent act.

[c'est moi]

I feel a chill wind...

[scootmandubious]

Tell you what I am getting sick of...the fact that you are selectively pursuing the most salacious and anti-Obama type stories to post here.

With Obama getting set to appear tonight after major speeches by Clinton and Obama, this is what you deem important?

Can you step back and put things in context and tell me what makes this your focus today? Where are the comparable stories about McCain? Or are you saving that for the day he gives his acceptance speech?

A co-worker just received propaganda e-mail that spouted points from Corsi's slander-fest book, as if it were the gospel truth. That's why this is unacceptable.

Mr. Malcolm, are there really no other newsworthy items regarding Obama today, or was it your agenda to obscure the Obama speech with a non-issue like this.

In case folks aren't noticing, this is a page out of the GOP playbook.

Who made the suggestion to you to post this? Karl Rove himself? Or was it somebody from the McCain campaign?

[gregory allison]

I listened to Mr. Kurtz's findings so far on WGN last night. The most damning point was not Obama's association with Bill Ayres. It is that Senator Obama has had only one real stint as a chief executive in his life, and while acitng as such he managed to squander $110,000,000 on feel good leftist idealogue programs and stiff those that sought to teach Chicago's kids about Algebra, math, and science.
No wonder he does not want the country to hear abut it.

[Jerry]

Note to the Obama people:
THE TRUTH HURTS; TRY IT SOMETIME

[Ace O'Dale]

Is this a preview of how an Obama administration will handle negative press?

Chilling...