IT'S POLITICAL SEASON AGAIN....

What you need to know about Radio advertising by political candidates.

If you’re a regular listener to WION, you know how much I, as owner of the station despise political ads, and ALL advertising disclaimers. For instance, I believe that if you buy a product, be an educated consumer, make the decision, and…if you decide to buy something that turns your skin purple over time, but makes your smile wider, NOBODY FORCED YOU TO BUY IT. You should do your homework before buying, (or buying INTO) any product, individual, or campaign that requires more than casual attention.

So, when it comes to political candidates’ advertising on the radio, remember, they only believe in “Spending more money buys more voters.”

Let’s say this again in a different way. Politicians attempt to BUY your vote with advertising. At WION it is our hope, instead of being swayed by all the ads you’ll hear and see that you’ll be an educated voter in November, and not base your decisions on ADVERTISING ONLY. 

At WION radio, if you’re a regular listener, you already know that we REFUSE ALL political ads except….. (And there’s always a catch) those who are running for FEDERAL office. The FCC will not allow us to refuse these, and furthermore…..the FCC requires that they pay LESS than most, if not all our regular advertisers pay based on lowest per-commercial rate in any of our packages, regular sales or specials.

Thus, we ask you to keep in mind that if you hear ANY political advertising on WION, it is not by our choice. It’s FCC law.  And, you should RESEARCH any candidate heard on our airwaves, not take what they say as Gospel truth.  We endorse, back, and encourage you to visit our LOCAL clients, but we do NOT endorse political ads, PERIOD.

You should also know that the people who work PLACING those annoying ads (commonly called “agencies”) on WION for their respective candidates are as much an equal pain in the rear end as their candidates’ negative ads are to your ears.  Frequently, a candidate’s advertising agency will demand time on the air on short notice, shorter than standard for our station. This places our staff in a position of putting the work for OTHER regularly supportive clients of WION aside to attend to their politics. And, while paying the least, the candidate can demand placement WHEREVER THEY WANT on our station’s normal broadcast sales day of commercials.

The bottom line is this:

As an owner of radio media, I’m tired of these practices and policies favoring political candidates over our regular advertisers. I feel it unfair and demanding.  This is why we only run political ads which we have to by law.   

I also believe you, the listener should know that while most all of the commercial content on our stations is locally acquired, verified, written, produced, and presented to inform and entertain you, NONE of the content for candidates comes from the computer, pen, or mind of any of our station staff, and we are not responsible for their claims. 

Thus, as once said, “Buyer Beware.” After all, like the process of buying any product, aren’t you supposed to “buy into” what these mud slinging, unlimited spending politicians tell you? 

Do your homework before you go to the polls. And, take a minute to realize that should you hear any political ads on WION, they are not the opinions of the staff, management, or owners of our station.