The 40-page report recommended radio station “ownership diversity,” citing data claiming stations “owned by women, minorities, or local owners are statistically less likely to air conservative hosts or shows.”
Lloyd wrote that all radio stations should be required to “provide information on how the station serves the public interest in a variety of areas.”
The CAP report specifically called on the FCC to mandate all radio broadcast licensees “to regularly show that they are operating on behalf of the public interest and provide public documentation and viewing of how they are meeting these obligations.”
Lloyd and co-authors lamented that the FCC “renews broadcast licensees with a postcard renewal, and while it once promised random audits of stations it has never conducted a single audit.”
In 2009, FoxNews.com reported that Lloyd called for “equal opportunity employment practices,” “local engagement” and “license challenges” to rectify what he perceived as an imbalance in talk radio and news coverage.
Congressional Utilizes Recalled Book
Curiously, the recently released House Armed Services Committee report on Benghazi utilized a controversial book that was recalled by its publisher, KleinOnline has found.
The footnotes in the report cite The Embassy House book that landed the CBS News show “60 Minutes” in hot water after it uncritically aired an interview with the co-author, who at the time used the pseudonym Morgan Jones.
Questions were raised about the veracity of Jones’s statements, including his whereabouts during the attack, after it was revealed Jones gave conflicting information to the FBI and in an unsigned incident report.
While some may be quick to attempt to discredit the House investigation based on its admitted consideration of Jones’ book, others may see the move as vindicating some of the information contained in The Embassy House.
The book raises significant questions about the inadequate security at the Benghazi compound.
One of the main issues in the work is the State Department’s use of armed members of the February 17 Martyrs Brigade militia as a quick-reaction force stationed inside the U.S. Special Mission grounds instead of American forces.
The Brigade acted under the umbrella of the Al Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia terrorist group, which was implicated in the Benghazi attack.