Wednesday, March 19, 2008

QUESTION 1:
If an on-air dj made a negative comment about me or where I live I’d probably be pissed. I don’t think there is much to do but, complain. But, everyone is entitled to their own opinions about where people live and about people in general. As Americans we are allowed freedom of speech. While, I do believe the Randy’s comments where ignorant he could have been joking around. People have a tendency to act dramatic to certain things, and I think this was one of the cases.

Randy should have though twice before he made that comment. From looking at his MySpace page he is very open about his sexuality and while the comments he made doesn’t have to do with it but, he should think would I want someone to say slanderous comments about my sexuality. I do understand they are two different things but, he should think before he talks sometimes.


While reading the Newsday article about Randy’s apology a comment made by someone struck me:

"They went after Imus for basically the same thing -- and Imus didn't attack an entire tri-hamlet," said Zeleny, referring to the firing last April at another radio station of shock jock Don Imus for disparaging Rutgers' women's basketball players.
Correct me if I’m wrong but, what Imus said was WAY worse than what Randy said. Imus got fired for his comments and Randy getting suspended for two days w/ dock pay because of comments he made about a trailer park. I don’t see how the two are the same?

Also, I do believe that the media pulls out things that they want us to hear. For example they have that Randy said:
"Did your pipes freeze under the trailer, or do you have that stuff down there to keep them warm?"
We don’t know how Randy said it. He could have been joking around or the caller could have been rude. If someone listens to say like Elvis Duran and the Z Morning Zoo the DJ’s sometimes go back at a rude caller. It’s all about how it was said on air. On paper anything can sound rude and nasty.

I actually believe that Randy’s punishment was too harsh. At first the radio station wasn’t going to make a big deal about his comment. It wasn’t until the media picked up the story and ran with it. Suspending someone for two days and docking their pay in my opinion unnecessary. The area that Randy was talking about is known for having sex offenders. I bet if he said a nasty/rude comment about the sex offenders this wouldn’t be a problem.



Question 2 & 3:

In my opinion I don’t know if he should be expelled. While, he did break the school rules there is also responsibility on the college radio station department. If they knew what was going on right away it should have been pulled. Someone could have gone in the studio while the show was on telling him to go to commercial or a song then pull the plug on the show. In response to the college DJ trying to compare himself to Howard Stern I think that’s the dumbest thing ever. Stern isn’t a college radio station but, when he was on syndication with Clear Channels he had to follow the same FCC rules.

According to Albany.edu some FCC rules for college are:

College radio is free format and non-commercial but what can be said and played is still restricted by the FCC. Obscene language or the use of the 7 dirty words (you know what they are) cannot be used at anytime. Music containing obscene language or content can only be played within the areas of 10pm and 6 am. This time period is called safe harbor. Obscene language still cannot be used, but songs with obscene language or content can be played.”
But, the rules have nothing about college radio and sexual acts. But, I think that’s probably because the colleges themselves have rules against that.

According to NorthJersey.com the DJ’s for this show also had video on a website of a man writing in whip cream on a naked girl.

Some of the raunchy videos — which apparently date to a broadcast of the Randy Rogers show in February — were posted on one of the disc jockey's Web sites Friday and were not removed until The Record tried to contact the DJs. One of the videos featured a man writing Rogers' initials in whipped cream on the body of a naked girl in what appears to be the FM radio station's studio.”


I do believe this is probably the reason they got pulled and will be expelled. While the DJ’s in a follow up article said “there were no incidents involving sex acts or nudity.” There is no way of proving that especially now since there have been videos showing lap dances and the whip cream incident in the radio station on the radio. The college has to do what’s right and the DJ’s should have been following the rules but, there is also a big problem with the lack of responsibility from the people who work at the college radio station. The plug should have been pulled on this show as soon as the first incident happened. If that happened the college station would not be in this much trouble.

If the FCC does take action against the students it might teach them a lesson that they can’t get away with this type of action. I think the FCC should fine the college too. The college failed at their duties as a radio station. It’s suppose to be a professional environment and every college station should have to follow the FCC rules because it prepares the students who want to get into radio for a career and they will know what can and can’t be done. But, also these college DJ’s are not Howard Stern. I feel like they knew what they were doing from the start. If the college gets fined maybe this will cause them to be more hands on with the station. But, also at the same time I feel bad for the DJ’s who didn’t do anything wrong and they are getting punished for the actions of one show.

The show title alon
e “The Kinky Olympics” should have been a heads up to the people running the college radio station. Shows like this shouldn’t be allowed on radio at all. Today college radio is available online just like any other radio station (like Z100 and 101.9) so considering any age could be listening the FCC rules need to be enforced. Aside from the FCC rules a person should use moral judgment in saying anything or doing anything that might offend a person. In this case it was the exotic dancer’s mother after she saw the video online.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Hello CEI:

The following are THREE of your assignments for the weeks below in BOLD. Please answer all THREE questions in their entirety, thoughtfully, and grammatically correct. Ensure to use factual information, and provide website links where applicable.


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WEEK OF 3.3.08:

Below is an article from Newsday with regards to DJ Randy from WBLI for a slanderous comment he made about the residents In Mastic/Shirley area in Suffolk County, NY on-air.

In addition, I have posted some links you could use in your research.

QUESTION 1:
If an on-air disc jockey made a negative reference to you, about you, or about your neighborhood, what would you do?
Should jocks have the right to make those types of slanderous comments without penalties? Ask a radio station manager, what would you decide the disciplinary action should be… if any? Do you feel DJ Randys penalty was enough, or not enough and why?



http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=dj+randy%2C+wbli

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=822214

Newsday.com
WBLI host to apologize to Mastic area residents
BY MATTHEW CHAYES
10:50 PM EST, February 29, 2008
An embattled radio host who ridiculed the poverty of the Mastic area is expected to apologize Monday to a firehouse full of irate residents, a station spokesman said Friday.But whatever words of sorrow WBLI-FM co-host Randy Spears offers Monday morning at the Mastic fire station won't placate the Concerned Citizens of Mastic Beach, which plans to picket Saturday outside the West Babylon radio station to demand his ouster, said the group's vice president, Victor Zeleny."They went after Imus for basically the same thing -- and Imus didn't attack an entire tri-hamlet," said Zeleny, referring to the firing last April at another radio station of shock jock Don Imus for disparaging Rutgers' women's basketball players.Spears -- who has co-hosted "BLI in the Morning" on WBLI for 21/2 years -- stoked the ire of local politicians and activists on Wednesday by asking a caller from the Mastic area, "Did your pipes freeze under the trailer, or do you have that stuff down there to keep them warm?"The caller countered that she lived in a house and said she was "very angry," prompting Spears' reply: "Just think, if you win this game, the whole trailer park will be excited."People in Mastic, Mastic Beach and Shirley have been trying for years to shake the South Shore communities' reputation of a higher-than-usual concentration of low-income residents and sex offenders. The area garnered bad press earlier this year when three separate children reported being accosted by men.After Spears continued to anger activists the next day by refusing to apologize on the air, station management banned him from the airwaves and suspended him without pay, said station spokesman Todd Shapiro.Petitions were circulated. Boycotts were threatened.But assuming Spears apologizes to the station's satisfaction, he will be back on the air though his pay will have been docked for two days, Shapiro said.Zeleny, the protest organizer, said he would still push advertisers to boycott the station because Spears didn't immediately apologize.Spears -- station management wouldn't reveal his real name -- has not responded to numerous attempts by Newsday to reach him, including through electronic messages and requests to the station's publicist.The 106.1-FM morning show is ranked fifth in morning drive-time on Long Island, according to the Arbitron ratings service.Staff writer John Valenti .contributed to this story.
Copyright © 2008,
Newsday Inc.

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WEEK OF 3.10.2008 & 3.24.2008
(3.17.08 IS SPRING BREAK, NO ASSIGNMENT)
Below is an article from the 1010 WINS website. The story is about a college jock under fire for his racy show. Please conduct your own research in addition to what I provided.

QUESTION #2 & QUESTION #3 (covering both weeks)
Although activities like this are acceptable on commercial radio stations, non-commercial radio stations have different rules and regulations. Either way, if you have FM after your call letters, you are subject to FCC fines, investigations, and sometimes worse. Do you feel that these students should be expelled, and why? If the FCC decides to peruse actions against the jocks, what should it be and why? If the FCC decides to peruse actions against the university, what should those actions be and why? Do feel events and programming similar to this one should be on college radio, why or why not?

College DJ Under Fire for Racy Show, Videos
MONTCLAIR, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- A
Montclair State University student under fire for his racy radio show has responded to the school's investigation by comparing himself to America's most famous shock jock and vowing to take his show online.
"In regards to the heat about my radio show, I cannot say it was unexpected," the student — who goes by the radio name Randy Rogers — wrote in an e-mail to the Associated Press on Saturday. "Howard Stern battled for years due to his content."
Rogers and a fellow DJ, who calls himself Jay Jay Smooth, are under investigation by the university for a show on
WMSC-FM that may have included naked women, lap dancing and other sex acts.The show was pulled from the air this week when videos, apparently from a February event called the Kinky Olympics, surfaced online showing raunchy activities that may have occurred inside the college-owned studio.
Rogers said the controversy started when the mother of a 19-year-old exotic dancer reacted negatively to the girl's appearance on the show.
"I just wish the mother would have recognized this was her daughter's choice," he said.
Rogers plans to restart his show next week using online audio and video distribution. However, he said the new show — now called "Too Cool for School" — will instead "go for a similar but classier theme."
Minne Ho, a university spokeswoman, said the students may face expulsion from the school and the station could face fines from the Federal Communications Commission.
Montclair State University has not released the names of the students involved, citing privacy concerns. For now school officials are investigating whether the individuals involved were students at the university, Ho said.
The school also is considering plans to remove control of the radio station from the student government and place it under the control of an independent board.
The only regret Rogers expressed in his e-mail related to the fate of the station.
"As for WMSC Radio, I really am sorry things went this far," he said. "I should have used better judgment when performing these shows."
Earlier this year, university administrators moved to separate the school's student newspaper from its student government after the Student Government Association cut off funding for the paper after a dispute over articles critical of closed meetings.



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Good luck on your assignments and see you in class on Tuesday.
Take care and thanks.

~ JM