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97 Rock REALLY steps in it

TheBigA said:
He knew it was wrong. He said "I may get into trouble for this." So then why did he continue? My view is he WANTED to get fired. He's received more publicity for one little bit than he did in 25 years.
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I have heard countless radio personalities throw out that exclamation before saying something provocative. It's a projection of the anxiety they feel before saying something they know is a bit out of the norm of what's deemed acceptable.

I don't, however, know of any radio talent that intentionally tried to get fired just to get publicity. They'll make a controversial statement to get publicity. They'll even maybe luck out and get a good gig after getting fired for such a statement. But I don't know of anyone dumb enough to actually try and get fired just for the hopeful publicity just to maybe land a better gig. Quite a gamble even in the best of times, and we're far from those day.
 
Rusty Bridges said:
Why his two partners didn't reel him in after "I might get in trouble..." is anybody's guess.
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That's the other part. They didn't stop him. If your driving your car off a cliff, don't you hope the other passengers wake you up?

Couple all this with what's going on at WBUF. What does the loss of Lederman in the morning at 97Rock do to them?

Rusty Bridges said:
C'mon man. Suggesting Lederman wanted to get fired is ridiculous.
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I'm still waiting for a better explanation. He knew it was bad and he did it. Either he's stupid, or he did it for a reason.

If he's been on the radio for 25 years, he can't use being a comedian as an excuse. It wasn't funny.

I also want to know what's uniquely Buffalo about this. Did he use any Buffalo people in it? Did Halle Berry move to Buffalo?
 
BigA said:
I also want to know what's uniquely Buffalo about this. Did he use any Buffalo people in it? Did Halle Berry move to Buffalo?
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Berry bought a place in Snyder... wait... maybe she bought all of Snyder. If Lederman wanted to get gassed, he could have ripped the format, the company, the GM or PD... nobody would want to go through the sh^t storm that he's going through.

(Kidding about Berry ... although she probably could afford to buy all of Snyder ... except for LaBrun)
 
TheBigA said:
I'm still waiting for a better explanation. He knew it was bad and he did it. Either he's stupid, or he did it for a reason.
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Did Opie and Anthony "joke" about the death of Boston Mayor Tom Menino to get fired, knowing that a job in New York was waiting? I assume they didn't engineer their New York downfall (the cathedral sex bit) to grease the skids for their move to XM.
 
Couple all this with what's going on at WBUF. What does the loss of Lederman in the morning at 97Rock do to them?
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This surely isn't a good time for 97 to lose a key player on the morning show, let alone have two others be sidelined. Each day the show hobbles along with substitute players hurts. The BSDs at Cumulus are surely aware of this, but they're caught betwen a rock and a hard place. Listeners are more likely to go to Shredd & Ragan or WGR. Both are known commodities.

None of those things would have led to this
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Still, the contention that he wanted to get fired remains ridiculous. He didn't want to get fired. He messed up. Clean up on aisle 97.
 
CTListener said:
Did Opie and Anthony "joke" about the death of Boston Mayor Tom Menino to get fired, knowing that a job in New York was waiting? I assume they didn't engineer their New York downfall (the cathedral sex bit) to grease the skids for their move to XM.
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O&A did risk getting fired because they DID have the WNEW gig on the horizon. They said so themselves when recounting that incident years later. The St. Patty's Cathedral incident was a screw-up that they regretted.
 
TheBigA said:
I'm still waiting for a better explanation. He knew it was bad and he did it. Either he's stupid, or he did it for a reason.
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It's what you say when you're a bit tentative about the inflammatory nature of something you're about to say. Happens all the time.
 
flybynight said:
It's what you say when you're a bit tentative about the inflammatory nature of something you're about to say. Happens all the time.
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That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking why did he do something that he knew was going to get him into trouble. Every time someone ventures in the racial area, it leads to a big stink, and a good chance of getting fired. And it just happened last year in Rochester.

www.tmz.com

Radio Hosts Fired for Racist Comments on Air

A New York radio station fired two hosts after they made racist comments live on air in a discussion about Black Lives Matter protests following George Floyd's death.
www.tmz.com www.tmz.com

Rusty Bridges said:
He didn't want to get fired. He messed up. Clean up on aisle 97.
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That minimizes the extent of the problem. If he didn't think it would lead to him getting fired, then WHAT did he think it would lead to? An award? A raise? Big ratings? Perhaps more people need cultural awareness training, not just radio hosts.
 
TheBigA said:
That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking why did he do something that he knew was going to get him into trouble. Every time someone ventures in the racial area, it leads to a big stink, and a good chance of getting fired. And it just happened last year in Rochester.
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You should ask Lederman. Are you saying he deliberately wanted his contract terminated so he could get a better deal elsewhere? That didn't work for the two Rochester hosts you just referenced. Townsquare isn't spending money on WBUF, so it's unlikely he'll land there.

Maybe he was bored stiff after 20 years of doing the same material. Maybe he forgot that his mic was on. Give him a call...
 
TheBigA said:
That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking why did he do something that he knew was going to get him into trouble. Every time someone ventures in the racial area, it leads to a big stink, and a good chance of getting fired.
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People have varying degrees of judgement. Some are much better at skirting the ever-moving line than others.
 
Alan Pergament's column in the News today(sorry, behind a paywall)points out that Cumulus Buffalo has gone(pardon the phrase)radio silent ever since the oh-so-corporate apology was made on 97 last Friday(and it should be pointed out that it was also played on sister station WEDG)and asks "Why didn't Chris Klein also get fired? After all, SHE participated in the discussion too!".
 
IMO, this matter is getting laughable now. Whomever made the final decision to take the action(s) that were taken has some things to consider (and likely learn) - in hindsight. I get that a customer of the station reacted negatively to the program content. That radio decision maker wants the appearance of "no tolerance" when - in reality - it appears that he/she has no real spine whatsoever. If he/she doesn't like the product/service of the artistic talent that was hired, move in a different direction. But don't act holier than thou and appalled. Nonsense. Blowhards.

Clearly, the actor failed. The guy has stated previously on record that his objective in comedy is to result in the audience forgetting about real life problems. So, obviously, his topic choice for so-called joking banter was misaligned with that goal. The guy futzed up. He admits it, no? But, the actor insults all sorts of groups... and has for years. Heck, the station even celebrated his comedy a few years ago with a public (sold-out, I believe) event they sponsored. The cry of 'he went too far' is disingenuous when one is speaking of artistic talent that has been celebrated for "genius" creativity.

There are no shortages of 'wrongs' in this whole thing. Everyone involved (station/public/talent/customer/etc) is entitled to be offended/disgusted/upset/pleased/whatever/etc. however they so choose. It's a choice.

Maybe the guy had prior performance issues with his employer that are not widely public(?)... and this was the "final" incident(?).

I think the station's Code of Conduct prior to this incident should be published for all to see.
 
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four4rock said:
The cry of 'he went too far' is disingenuous when one is speaking of artistic talent that has been celebrated for "genius" creativity.
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What was genius about the bit? Hey look, it'll all get discussed in detail when he sues the company for wrongful termination.
 
TheBigA said:
What was genius about the bit? Hey look, it'll all get discussed in detail when he sues the company for wrongful termination.
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Losing battle. He wouldn't win. The moral turpitude clause, being somewhat subjective, tends to err on the side of the company. Besides, the ususal MO in these situations is to go away with your tail between your legs, hoping to work another day. Not to mention, his lengthy apology plays right into the "for cause" termination. The bigger a stink he makes of this, the less likely he gets hired anywhere ever again.
 
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TheBigA said:
What was genius about the bit? Hey look, it'll all get discussed in detail when he sues the company for wrongful termination.
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I have no idea about the specific "bit" and any so-called genius it may have contained or of which been void.
flybynight said:
Losing battle. He wouldn't win. The moral turpitude clause, being somewhat subjective, tends to err on the side of the company. Besides, the ususal MO in these situations it to go away with your tail between your legs, hoping to work another day. Not to mention, his lengthy apology plays right into the "for cause" termination.
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Possibly. However, if there has been inconsistent application of the Code of Conduct, the legal outcome - were one to go there - may be quite opposed to the employer.
 
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