Introduction
The First Amendment guarantees that Americans have the right to say whatever they want in public, as long as they don't yell fire in a crowded theatre; actively encourage violence against a particular person, or a group of people; or, commit libel. Our freedom of speech makes it possible for citizens to criticize their leaders, whistleblowers to tell their stories, and for radio 'shock jocks' to exist.
Over the past 20 years, radio disc jockeys have become increasingly outrageous in what they say -- and the stunts that they pull -- in order to increase their ratings. In the wake of the Janet Jackson/FCC controversy, some have noticed the tenor of talk radio becoming more mean-spirited and bigoted, in lieu of the sexually explicit gags that are now a risky invitation to expensive FCC fines.
Many so-called shock jocks wear their fines and firings as badges of honor. And the more publicity they can garner, positive or negative, is more press for their next gig, wherever that might be. These DJs aren't guilty of hate speech. They aren't actively encouraging violence against a particular person, or a group of people. But they are engaging in hateful speech.
On the next few pages, we've pulled together some examples of DJs who crossed a line with their listeners -- and suffered the consequences. The stories are emblematic of what a community can accomplish when it stands up together against offensive speech.
Next: Hot 97 & 'The Tsunami Song' »
Sources:
» Jacoby, Jeffrey. "Hate speech of the left." The Boston Globe, December 28, 2003.
» Hate speech, Wikipedia
» McMasters, Paul. "Must a civil society be a censored society?" firstamendmentcenter.com, January 17, 1999.
Hot 97
In late January 2005, the morning disc jockeys at New York City's Hot 97 started spinning a new parody song about the tsunami victims in Southeast Asia to the tune of "We Are the World." The song, full of racial slurs and blatant mockeries of the victims was penned by producer Rick DelGado, and recorded by comedian and morning DJ, Todd Lynn and his co-host, Miss Jones.
Here's a sample of the offensive lyrics.
"... There were Africans drowning, little Chinamen swept away you could hear God laughing, 'Swim you bitches, swim' So now you're screwed, it's the tsunami you better run or kiss your ass away, go find your mommy I just saw her float by, a tree went through her head and now your children will be sold to child slavery ..."
Miss Jones continued to play the song every day for a week, despite the protest of another co-host, Miss Info, who said that she wasn't comfortable with the song and wanted them to stop playing it. Miss Jones accused Miss Info of feeling "superior, probably because [she's] Asian" and Lynn interrupted saying he thought he was going to start shooting Asians.
The so-called "Tsunami Song" found its way around the Internet and offended people across the country prompting an Internet petition campaign on hiphopmusic.com, sidewalk protests in front of the Hot 97 building and the loss of several advertisers' support, including Sprint and McDonald's.
Morning personality Tarsha Nicole Jones, who uses the on-air name Miss Jones, issued an on-air apology soon after the song first aired on Jan. 21.
She said, "I apologize to all who have been offended by my poor decision to go along with playing that insulting (to say the least) tsunami song. I should have known better, and I didn't. So I'm sorry and hopefully we can move forward from this, or I can move forward from this being a better hostess, because I am better than that and I know better than that -- and you deserve better radio than that."
In addition to Miss Jones' apology and one posted on the Hot 97 website, the Morning Show producer, Rick Delgado and co-host Todd Lynn were fired. The rest of the staff, including Miss Jones, was suspended for two weeks, with their pay going to support tsunami relief. Miss Info was not punished and has brought a lawsuit against her co-workers alleging that her persecution on the job went beyond the Tsunami Song and that the Morning Show was a hostile work environment.
Not everyone thought the "Tsunami Song" songwriters deserved punishment. NYU student Will Phung wonders if people are "Killing free speech in the mass media."
But all this wasn't enough for some listeners. Several New York City Council members called on the station to donate a week's worth of corporate revenues, or $10 million, to tsunami aid. Brooklyn City Council Member Leticia James said, "This should serve as a lesson to people who profit from hate that it's going to cost you, and it's going to cost you dearly." And Asian-American rapper Jin wrote a song blasting the Tsunami Song that starts, "Since when was hip-hop about being racist?"
Next: Jersey Guys & Jun Choi »
Audio Segment: Making Contact, produced by the non-profit National Radio Project, is an award-winning, 29-minute weekly public affairs program heard on over 180 radio stations in the USA, Canada and South Africa.
» Sources:
» McShane, Larry. "NYC radio station still reeling from tasteless tsunami parody" Associated Press, February 7, 2005.
» Guzman, Rafer. "For two, tsunami joke is a swan song." Newsday, February 2, 2005.
» Hinckley, David. "Tsunami Song' Fallout: 3 Suspended, 2 Fired." Daily News, February 2, 2005.
Jersey Guys
101.5 FM's Jersey Guys are not new to controversy. Late last year, shock jocks Craig Carton and Ray Rossi nearly got into a fistfight on the air with New Jersey's acting Governor Codey after the two made jokes about the governor's wife, Mary Jo Codey, and her battles with postpartum depression.
Last month, the two ridiculed Edison, New Jersey mayoral candidate Jun Choi's name and referred to minorities as fringe groups (read the transcript). Carton adopted a high-pitched voice and asked listeners if they would really vote for someone named Jun Choi? He went on to say that Americans should vote for Americans. He also mimicked Asian accents and complained that there were too many Asians at Atlantic City's gambling tables.
The station was deluged with critical calls. A coalition of about 100 minority groups demanded the Jersey Guys apologize both to Jun Choi and listeners. Officials of the New Jersey/Taskforce Against Hate Media and the Coalition for Asian-American Civil Rights said a mutual understanding was reached with the station on May 26, 2005.
Listen to Craig Carton and Ray Rossi apologize to Jun Choi
on the 'Jersey Guys' radio show (3:38 minutes).
In addition to an on-air apology to Choi, officials at 101.5 FM agreed to a stronger policy against racist speech, diversity training, and on-air promotion of Asian-American events in the area. They also agreed to have Mr. Choi on the show to talk about the election and his campaign.
Andrew T. Hahn, chairman of the Korean-American Lawyers Association of New York, told The Record, a Bergen county local newspaper, that the incident has helped galvanize Asian-Americans into an organized community that is better prepared to handle other problems that might come up in the future.
He told the paper, "Carton and Rossi did us a big favor. These kinds of things happen all the time. No one should consider Asian-Americans any less American."
They may have done Choi a big favor, too. On June 8, 2005, Mr. Choi won the Democratic primary beating Mayor George Spadoro in a "stunning upset."
Next: Star and Buc Wild and the phone call »
Sources:
» Yung, Kim. "Asian-American leaders want shock jocks canned; Call comments about mayoral candidate 'over the line'" The Bergen Record, April 29, 2005.
» Young, Elise. "DJs apologize to Edison candidate for Asian jibes;
Say they didn't mean to hurt his campaign" The Bergen Record, May 26, 2005.
» Yung, Kim. "Groups accept shock jocks' apology;
NJ 101.5-FM, coalition reach 'understanding'" The Bergen Record, May 28, 2005.
» Cirianno, Rosa. "Edison Mayor George Spadoro reflects on election loss." Associated Press, June 8, 2005.
Star and Buc Wild
Philadelphia's 'Power 99' radio station features shock jocks Star and Buc every weekday morning. Their tagline is "The Original Haters." On January 11, 2005, Star (Troi Terrain) called an infomercial phone number to get more information about a product called Quick Beads, which are like the beads that Venus and Serena Williams wear in their hair.
The operator who identified herself as Steena, told the DJ that the call center she had reached was located in India. The DJ became abusive, telling Steena, "Ma'am, I don't know what the hell you're saying... This call has been outsourced to India? Well, ma'am, what the "F" would you know about an American white girl's -- uh, uh -- hair? And quick beads?" When Steena tried to tell her that she found her language offensive, Star continued, "Listen to me, you dirty rat eater. I'll come out there and choke the 'F' out of you." (Read the transcript.)
According to the "Times of India" newspaper, this type of behavior is a growing trend. Frustrated Americans, angry about the outsourcing of jobs to India, have been phoning call centers to make abusive and racist comments to the operators.
After putting a clip of the phone call on the 'Power 99' website, the radio station realized that some listeners were offended by the recording when they started receiving emails from across the country complaining about the abusive call, and promptly removed it from the site.
The station issued a statement to listeners saying,"the on-air talent [of the 'Star and Buc Wild' show] has apologized and has been suspended." The co-hosts were suspended for a day. In response, Asian media watchdog groups have called for the
elimination of radio host Star (Troi Terrain) and the "Star and Buc Wild" radio program from future broadcast on 'Power 99'.
Sources:
» Rubin, Daniel. "Shock jocks' skit pulled by Power 99." Philadelphia Enquirer, January 11, 2005.
» Rajghatta, Chidanand. "US Radio Jocks Suspended for a Day" The Times of India, January 13, 2005.
» PR Newswire. "American Jewish Committee, US India Political Action Committee Urge Philadelphia Radio Station to Fire Morning Show Hosts." January 21, 2005
» Wall Street Journal Opinion. "Expletives Undeleted." January 14, 2005.