Jul. 14, 2011 at 12:03am

Huffington Post Reports on Tacoma's Billboard Battle

Via the up and coming Tacoma Komo News:

City councils, community activists, and preservationists are squaring off in cities across the country against corporations like Clear Channel, a communications and marketing company that owns hundreds of radio stations across the country and maintains millions of advertising displays in 45 nations around the world. At issue is whether to permit digital billboards frequently promoting the latest edgy TV shows or beer ads to proliferate in our cities.

Currently, the states of Maine, Hawaii, Vermont and Alaska ban billboards, including digital ones, entirely. Many other states permit traditional "static" billboards but ban digital billboards.

In Seattle's mid-sized sister city of Tacoma, Wa., activists are facing off against Clear Channel in an effort to reduce the number of static billboards in the city and to ban digital billboards in their entirety

comments [8]  |  posted under Tacoma

by Erik on 7/14/2011 @ 12:19am	From the Tribune: Tacoma at epicenter of national billboard debate? It appears so One anti-billboard advocate traveled from Minnesota just for the hearing because Tacoma is "the active battleground on the West Coast." Ossian Or is executive director of Scenic Minnesota and a board member of Scenic America, a leading organization against billboards. He joined Paula Rees, a Seattle resident who conducted a study of downtown Tacoma, in saying the city is on the national stage for how it decides to handle its dispute with Clear Channel. "There are very fine attorneys who have beaten Clear Channel regularly and aren't that expensive for a city this size, who can be brought in and call their bluff. And it is a bluff," he said in an interview. "The threat of a lawsuit shouldn't create this kind of fear." blog.thenewstribune.com/street/2011/07/1... Come on Tacoma.....don't be bluffed!
by Erik on 7/14/2011 @ 1:51am	Next up: The final public hearing before the Tacoma City Council is scheduled for July 19th, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. Here is the agenda: cms.cityoftacoma.org/cityclerk/Files/Cit... Some folks have arranged a "protest" against the threat of digital billboards at Tacoma City Hall at Tacoma Municipal Building 747 Market Street Tuesday, July 19 � 4:00pm - 7:00pm www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=210694458... Hopefully, Tacoma can soon finish off the digital billboard threat so it can start focusing on rebuilding the city.
by fredo on 7/14/2011 @ 9:36am	When you give your testimony Eric you can finish off by saying fredo agrees with your position.
by L.S.Erhardt on 7/14/2011 @ 2:43pm	Since we're in the spotlight, we have to defeat CC not just for us, bit for Pittsburgh, Spokane, Toledo, Mesa, Ft Lauderdale, Oakland and every other mid-sized city that will eventually fight clear channel. Join the Thousand-Human Protest on July 19th @ 4:30 outside city hall. Bring signs. Bring banners. Bring megaphones. Bring friends. Bring an effigy of Clear Channel's CEO. Ok, don't actually bring the effigy. Not cool to do so. But bring as many people as you can. Politicians fear crowds.
by CaptainBritton on 7/14/2011 @ 3:31pm	Thorax is right! Drown out the city noise with people noise! See Ya'll there!
by NineInchNachos on 7/14/2011 @ 6:26pm	DEATH TO CLEAR CHANNEL!
by KevinFreitas on 7/15/2011 @ 6:56am	We should help folks right sign slogans and come up with clever/easy crowd chants here so we're somewhat prepared/organized. Any ideas? A good possible sign slogan steals from Clear Channel's own: Tacoma's choice is clear: NO DIGITAL BILLBOARDS Or maybe snag on of the pics of a run-down billboard and label it either CLEAN CHANNEL CARES or BLIGHT MATTERS
by Jesse on 7/15/2011 @ 7:36am	Anyone know the tool who tagged the Swiss? Get that clown to tag all the Clear Channel billboards as "Illegal Billboard" in large bold letters.