[JonInMiddleGA]

Ran across something tonight that made me think of this thread

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shar...g_Contest.html
Radio Station to Stop Slapping Contest
By MICHAEL GORMLEY
Associated Press Writer

ALBANY, N.Y. — A New York City radio station that earlier mocked tsunami victims on the air has agreed to stop its "Smackfest" promotion, in which women slapped each other for prizes, the state attorney general announced Monday.

WQHT Hot 97's parent company also agreed in a settlement to pay $240,000, which equaled the maximum fine it faced, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said.

Spitzer and the state Athletic Commission said the hip-hop and rhythm and blues station held 24 "Smackfest" contests from April 2004 to January 2005. Young women took turns "violently" slapping each other for concert tickets and as much as $5,000 in cash, Spitzer said. Images of the slapping then ran on the station's Web site.

Spitzer investigated the case as a potential violation of state law on promotion of a combative sport.

Indianapolis-based Emmis Radio, a division of Emmis Communications, noted in a statement that the contestants were volunteers but said "it was not our finest hour, and New York City deserves better."

WQHT agreed to pay $60,000 of the settlement to a nonprofit group that promotes awareness of domestic violence.

In April, the station was criticized for broadcasting "Tsunami Song," which mocked victims of December's flooding disaster in south Asia that killed tens of thousands. The producer who wrote the song was fired and other station employees were suspended.

Emmis Chairman Jeffrey Smulyan said then that the song was "morally indefensible," adding "the entire Emmis family is ashamed."

And also, just as predicted

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercu...c/12083254.htm
Station hires twice-fired producer of offensive parody

By Brad Kava

Mercury News

KYLD-FM (Wild 94.9), the San Francisco radio station that fired members of its controversial ``Morning Doghouse'' for making offensive sexual comments off and on air, has hired an even more controversial figure to replace them: the twice-fired New York producer who aired a couple allegedly having sex in St. Patrick's Cathedral and a song parody about tsunami devastation that included anti-Asian racial epithets.

The managers of the Clear Channel-owned station, Kim Bryant and Dennis Martinez, said they consider producer Rick Delgado to be a major talent in morning radio, and added that he will be carefully supervised on the ``Strawberry in the Morning,'' with local deejay Strawberry and Miami import Fay Carmona, which starts Monday at 6 a.m.

In an exclusive interview with the Mercury News first reported on mercurynews.com, Delgado said his earlier actions were edgy, but misinterpreted, and added that he wouldn't change his act very much for the new station.

``It was a matter of bad taste, like a blond joke,'' Delgado said of the ``Tsunami Song,'' which was set to the tune of ``We Are the World'' and made a joke of people dying in the Dec. 26 tsunami.

Delgado said the song was meant to parody a then-promised tsunami song by Sharon Stone and Sharon Osbourne.

``His job is to say he won't be censored, but he will be,'' said Bryant, who got her start in Spanish radio and now heads 11 stations in the Bay Area, including San Jose's KUFX-FM (98.5), KCNL-FM (104.9) and KSJO-FM (92.3).

``We are in it for the long run,'' Bryant said. ``We are going to protect our license, and we are here for the community and the listeners.''

The tsunami song, which drew massive protests from minority groups, was aired on New York's Hot 97, WQHT-FM, on the ``Miss Jones in the Morning Show.''

``It was meant to be a bad spoof of celebrities and telethons,'' Delgado said. ``My job is to put stuff out there and see what gets a reaction. Hopefully, people will get a kick out of it.''

Delgado and air personality Todd Lynn were ultimately fired, and three other morning show members, including ``Miss Jones,'' were suspended for two weeks.

Delgado said that managers at the station owned by Emmis Communications knew about the song and approved it before it aired. After protests from Asian media watchdog groups and politicians, the station contributed $1 million toward tsunami relief.

``We are appalled at the lack of sensitivity to the pain and suffering of the recent South Asian tsunami victims,'' said Ginny Gong, president of the national Organization of Chinese Americans, at the time. ``Miss Jones and Todd Lynn's broadcast included racially insensitive and inflammatory statements that encourage hatred and violence towards people of Asian descent.''

She added: ``The use of racial slurs is simply unacceptable, no matter what one's ethnicity.''

Delgado, who is of Spanish and Puerto Rican descent, said he thought racial humor was still acceptable, so long as the person making fun of a race is of that race.

``When you hear it from your own people, it doesn't make it seem as racial,'' he said. ``It's not supposed to be racial. It's supposed to be a goof.''

The station aims for an audience of women from ages 18-34. It was eighth in the market among all listeners over 12 in the last ratings period, with roughly a 2.9 percent share of 5.8 million listeners.