I know that this topic is being discussed on individual boards like Sacremento and Buffalo/Niagara Falls/Rochester (among others, I'm sure), but I think that it's so important that I want to make sure EVERYBODY is aware of it.
A young mother died because of a stupid radio contest. This is not an "accident". I don't care what any "release form" says, listeners enter contests with the expectation that what you ask them to do WON'T KILL THEM.
How much time does it take to go to Google and type in "Can drinking too much water hurt you". Try it right now. Anyone who spends the length of a typical commercial doing "research" ought to come to the conclusion that THIS CONTEST WAS DANGEROUS.
Moreover, contests that demean listeners also demean the hosts. Yes, you may get a momentary laugh, but the long-term effect is that people remember that you abuse people for fun. Is that really the image that you want people to have of you? Does that make people more likely to tune into your radio show? Are those the customers that your sponsors want in their stores?
If this is the event that causes every Morning Zoo, Circus, Regular Guys, Knuckleheads, or whatever to rethink their presentation and the stunts that they use to lure listeners, then maybe this poor woman's death wasn't completely senseless.
But it seems to me like it's a Hell of a price to pay.
A young mother died because of a stupid radio contest. This is not an "accident". I don't care what any "release form" says, listeners enter contests with the expectation that what you ask them to do WON'T KILL THEM.
How much time does it take to go to Google and type in "Can drinking too much water hurt you". Try it right now. Anyone who spends the length of a typical commercial doing "research" ought to come to the conclusion that THIS CONTEST WAS DANGEROUS.
Moreover, contests that demean listeners also demean the hosts. Yes, you may get a momentary laugh, but the long-term effect is that people remember that you abuse people for fun. Is that really the image that you want people to have of you? Does that make people more likely to tune into your radio show? Are those the customers that your sponsors want in their stores?
If this is the event that causes every Morning Zoo, Circus, Regular Guys, Knuckleheads, or whatever to rethink their presentation and the stunts that they use to lure listeners, then maybe this poor woman's death wasn't completely senseless.
But it seems to me like it's a Hell of a price to pay.