Complaints filed with FTC against Hannity over Freedom Concerts marketing practices

[babylonsister]

http://mediamatters.org/blog/201003290032

Complaints filed with FTC against Hannity over Freedom Concerts marketing practices

March 29, 2010 2:06 pm ET by MMFA Staff


From a March 29 press release from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington:

Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed complaints with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) against Sean Hannity, his Freedom Concerts, the Freedom Alliance and Lt. Col. Oliver North. Copies of the complaints were also sent to the attorney generals of the states in which concerts are scheduled to be held this summer.

CREW's FTC complaint alleges Hannity and Freedom Concerts have engaged in illegal and deceptive marketing practices by suggesting that all money generated by ticket sales for the Freedom Concerts he sponsors each summer goes to scholarships for children of killed and wounded service members. In fact, the concerts are staged by Premiere Marketing, which is headed by Duane Ward - also the head of Premiere Speakers Bureau, which exclusively represents Mr. Hannity and Lt. Col. North. After staging the concerts,Premiere donates an unknown portion of the concert proceeds to the Freedom Alliance.

Hannity has promoted the concerts on his show, making statements such as, "Every penny, 100 percent of the donations are applied to the Freedom Alliance scholarship fund." Similarly, promoting the concert on Hannity's program, Lt. Col. North has said, "There's no overhead. There's no expenses taken out. Every penny that's donated or that's raised through things like the Freedom Concerts" goes to the scholarship fund." In addition, Hannity has pledged that all the proceeds of his new book, "Conservative Victory," will go to Freedom Alliance.

Previously:

Conservative blogger accuses Hannity of deceptive fundraising practices

[Joanne98]

1. YAY

[lumpy]

4. Yay Too

v

[Ian David]

2. Since Hannity won't stand BEHIND our troops, he should stand in FRONT of them. n/t

[Happyhippychick]

3. Hey Sean, weren't you going to volunteer to be waterboarded?

[tammywammy]

5. That's pretty fucked up

You don't lie when it comes to charity. If I had donated to that charity I'd be hella pissed right now.

[progressoid]

6. Ruh roh.

[gratuitous]

7. Oh for heaven's sakes! Hannity's just an entertainer

Everybody knows that entertainers often say things just for the entertainment value, and the same thing applies here. When Hannity said "Every penny, 100 percent of the donations are applied to the Freedom Alliance scholarship fund," he was just using a little verbal shorthand. Any reasonable hearer of that statement would know immediately that by "every penny, 100 percent," Hannity actually meant "at least a penny, one hundredth of a percent" of the money donated would actually be spent on what the Freedom Alliance was thumping the tub for. Besides, you surely don't expect an important media personality like Sean Hannity to travel to the various venues in anything but the highest style, do you? I heard that Barbra Steisand takes a limo to her concerts, so there!

[lutefisk]

8. He should be able to use this as part of his persecution shtick

Hannity has been so persecuted by the "liberals" that he has made his show into the Conservative Underground. Poor Hannity is holding on with all his strength against the freedom hating liberals who will stop at nothing in their viscous attempts to prevent Hannity from speaking the truth and defending Democracy.

Or so he says.

[Tx4obama]

9. HuffPo article regarding this issue

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/29/washington-watchdog-veter_n_517096.html