Death Tied to Entercom's The End 107.9?

[Jim Beam]

Doesn't matter if it was just water.

Water is actually the only liquid that could cause this "hyponatremia". Because Water has no sodium, and excessive water consumption leads to your sodium levels to drop. Had this happened with gatorade she might have been alright.

Point is, will The Morning Rave be on the air tomorrow morning? Does anyone know if they were today? or did they get the holiday off.

I agree with the list someone already mentioned.
Fired:
Morning Show
Producer
Promotions Director/street coordinator
and maybe PD

 

[tomservo]

All over a videogame...

THERE lies the true crime.

Well, that pretty much sums things up nicely.

In the same vein but not a radio stunt per se, didn't a woman die a while back while participating in a marshmallow stuffing contest at a fair in London, ON? And yet, on some station, some morning zoo will one day do a "Chubby Bunny" contest. O&A were having their interns do this game after they found out about it...

It's up to the contestants to know risks and evaluate their ability and willingness to cope with them.

If the station people get fired, so be it. If the FCC revokes their license, eh... But lawsuits? That's going too far. She wasn't forced to do anything - participating was of her own free will.

I still want to know, seriously: Did she win the Wii? OK. I see she was a runner-up. Talk about adding insult to injury! Poor girl died and didn't even win. How sad.

 

[dbdigital]

This reminded me of the film: "They Shoot Horses Don't They?", people being egged on to punish their bodies and risk life just for a measly prize.

True, the contestant was free to choose whether to enter the contest or not, but many people are not aware of the dangers associated with certain extreme stunts and for a radio station to use the public airwaves to encourage such risky behavior is beyond reprehensible.

Whatever happend to the 'be the 16th caller' promotion? Granted it's old, but it's safe and endangers no one.

I hope Entercom is forced to pay dearly for this one.

db

 

[tomservo]

Whatever happend to the 'be the 16th caller' promotion? Granted it's old, but it's safe and endangers no one.

Will there be an uproar if its found that a person dies trying to redial, redial, redial on a cellphone while driving in rush hour traffic, trying to be caller 16?

 

[bradrollinondubz]

a couple points:

1. This bit has been done for many years by various zany shows...not very original
2. Does anybody know who the Morning Zoo is nor care??
3. Funny how The Kidd Chris Show is attached to all of the news footage circulating all over the internet...Kidd Chris is getting more publicity over this than the Morning Zoo...haha
4. They should make everyone involved in this BIT drink water...haha

 

[Neanderpaul]

Brad,

Using this as a blatant attempt to promote the show that's been exploiting you over the years is ill-timed.

I saw the numbers when it was on. Your friend's failed night show had a .8 M 18-34

Taking shots at a successful morning show by attempting to tout the virtues of a show that failed speaks volumes about how little you've learned over the years.

You're a good kid. But, this is neither the time, nor place for this grenade.

 

[ricoontheradio]

I agree with those stating this is a tragic accident. KDND didn't do this thinking/knowing someone would lose their life. This must be a horrible time for the family and friends of the victim, as well as for the staff at The End.

If I crash my car speeding down the highway to go claim my winning lottery ticket, it's no one's fault but my own... It was my actions that caused the problem. What has happened to Ms. Strange is a horrible event none-the-less, but I don't think calling people out by name as being held responsible is necessary.

Let's hope for a peaceful resolution to all this.

 

[dbdigital]

Whatever happend to the 'be the 16th caller' promotion? Granted it's old, but it's safe and endangers no one.

Will there be an uproar if its found that a person dies trying to redial, redial, redial on a cellphone while driving in rush hour traffic, trying to be caller 16?

There's a difference between using poor judgement and someone encouraging you to do something contrary to your body's natural function for a prize.

Besides, I don't think any radio station would be stupid enough to encourage someone to madly dial their cellphone while in rush hour traffic. If they did than it wouldn't be any different than this incident and they would be just as responsible.

db

 

[KFodor]

Everyone needs to take a friggin' step back for a second.

Nobody could've possibly predicted that someone could possibly die from WATER!!!!

Sorry...but ask your doctor. You can die from excessive water consumption. Any broadcast attorney would have advised against such a stunt. And, that's the way, unforunately, that the attorneys who will sue here will look at it. As for the FCC, don't know what they'll do ultimately. But, the rules are the rules. You don't place a radio contestant's safety or life in jeopardy with a "bit".

Forever, we've been told drink a bazillion glasses of water every day. Water is good. Drink water. Stay hydrated. Can someone present a documented case of "death by water ingestion" that anyone would have been exposed to in order to use as a reference point? This was an innocently conceived contest that went bad. A horrible tragedy. End of debate.

I'm fairly certain everyone involved feels terrible about it, and piling on is just classless on everyone's part. It could've been any one of you. Radio is full of contests intended to make the listener look silly, or do something potentially embarrassing.This unfortunate incident, will probably put an end to all "stunt contests"

My sympathies to the woman's family, and all of those at Entercom Sacramento.

Those whom would pile on, or rip anyone during this, should be ashamed of yourselves.

 

[TheRover]

Re: 107.9 The End water contest

This is, truly...a sad, sad story.

Sad...because the owners and operators of broadcast stations, and their employees, are supposed to
know better.

As a truly "responsible licensee", a radio station (staff and management) are supposed to know that the first rule of conducting a radio contest is to ensure the safety of all participants.

The fact that this one didn't, and didn't think of the potential health consequences of the stunt on the participants leaves this station open for massive lawsuits, FCC fines and, yes I even suggest, the possible revocation of the station license. It's sad....'cause they brought it on themselves. As a broadcaster of almost 35 years now, I can only support the stiffest of penalties here. A stunt on a radio station is not supposed to bring on death.

I couldn't agree more..... If this can't get a license revoked, then you wonder what should be the determiner. I can only hope the FCC will make a lesson out of this ! Big Corporations do not get free pass. It will be intresting to see where this goes...

This contest to hold your pee was not safe. Period. I wish I was Lawyer about now....

 

[DeadElvis]

Just checked the End website. Finally, finally, the station is saying something.

The words from the GM are exactly what a lawyer would have -- and probably did -- write. It expresses regret, without saying anything that could be construed as (attention: fancy law word alert) a Party-Opponent Admission later in court.

Of course, this is a bit late -- OK, a LOT late -- but, at least it's something. It also says that the morning show is off the air "indefinitely." No surprise there.

I suspect all of us will be getting memos from those we work for reminding us that safety of our contestants and coworkers is the first concern. We should all know this, of course. But, apparently, one station in a large market didn't. What a terrible shame. It cost a sympathetic woman her life. And, it will cost several people their careers and fortunes. As it should...

DE

 

[allnews]

I have to weight in after hearing all the justifying.

I agree that it's pretty well known that you can die from water intoxication -- it casues brain swelling, the pressure stops vital functions, etc. I won't repeat the previously mentioned examples.

We had a case in N.C a while back, where a kid died after the mother's boyfriend forced him to drink large quantities of water. The boyfriend went to trial for murder.

Someone should have talked to legal and a medical professional before such a stunt.

Take heed.

 

[nomorejeffs]

If y'all can stomach another two-cents' worth on this.....

Obviously this is a tragic situation, but I have a hard time piling on the End's morning show/promotions team/PD and calling for their heads. There was clearly negligence involved here, but it's also clear there was no malicious intent. To me, the best way to balance the karmic scales here is to try to make something good happen out of this horrible tragedy. As many of you have pointed out, that's already been done to a certain degree, because you can bet from now on the first question asked before any morning show promotions meeting will now be "This stunt we're planning...can anyone get hurt from it?" If the answer's "Yes", the stunt simply won't happen, and an unknown number of injuries or deaths will be prevented in the future.

As for the morning team and the PD, there's certainly an argument to be made for firing them. It seems to me, though, that depriving them of the ability to keep themselves and their families fed, clothed and sheltered is NOT the way to honor this woman's memory. Instead, I'd suggest the parties involved do some kind of voluntary charity work or community service - give something back to the community, instead of having their careers destroyed which may satisfy some people's sense of justice but otherwise does no practical good at all for anyone.

 

[bbutler]

The GM, John Geary, has been threatening to retire for years. You gotta wonder if he's kicking himself for not stepping down before all this.

 

[Element9]

(Buffalo, NY) I would like to applaud the posters here for a reasoned and for the most part, respectful approach to this tragedy.

The facts, limited as I understand them from news accounts, point to a complete lack of responsible conduct on the part of the morning show and its members, as well as the management of the station; the program director, promotions director and even the general manager, who should have been apprised of the event beforehand and furthermore, understood the potential, the possiblity of, and the consequences of hyponatremia. (Sorry to phrase that in legal context. I'm neither a lawyer or doctor.) As a result, SOMEBODY might have said, "we shouldn't do this promotion, there's too much risk." Waivers aren't airtight, especially when presented to a jury in a wrongful death civil lawsuit or worse, criminal trial.

The question was asked (to paraphrase) "who could have known this might happen?"

Well, I remember reading about this condition in high school science back in the paleolithic era (not that I'm old, but it's been a few years since I was part of the 18-34 demo.)

I also remember being told about drinking too much water when I worked out at the gym a few years ago. It was one of those "water's important, but don't go nuts..." advisories from a guy who was about 30, in great physical condition and helped guys like me who were re-habing from knee surgery and tended to hit the water bottle every other rep.

An tragedy such as the death of Jennifer Strange underscores the stupidity of some of the people who work in the business, particularly "morning zoos," "morning flakes," "morning circuses" and the rest of their ilk. You get the idea. Anything for a laugh, anything for some free pub on the 6 o'clock news... anything to get a bump in the book... and the pervasive "anything to make me famous" attitude that so many morning shows are ingrained with. Ask a 23 year old over-worked, under-paid morning show producer if he/she ever thought somebody could DIE as a result of such a stunt and you're bound to hear "we never thought THAT could happen." Of course not... because he/she didn't THINK.

Is it any wonder that radio is considered the ghetto of the entertainment business?

Entercom has some serious explaining to do. In New York state, a fatality resulting from this type of promotion might result in the District Attorney taking the particulars to a grand jury to determine whether a crime had been committed and if formal charges were warranted against the employees of the station and members of the morning show. Charges of criminally negligent homicide, accidental homicide or criminal negligence might be brought.

The real tragedy is elementary. A woman lost her life participating in a stunt. Very sad. It would be even sadder if the perpetrators are not held to account.

-9-

 

[ty]

Re: Latest Radio Promotion Gone Bad

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

Here yah go.

 

[jdweaver]

Re: Latest Radio Promotion Gone Bad

This is just a sad story - and while it's easy to second guess the management at the station, I'm sure the risk never occurred to them. I consulted a station a few years ago that had a promotion 'intern' killed as she was driving back to the station. It was horrible...but not the station's fault. Often life's events are no one's fault. Just a case of "s.... happens". The lawyers will argue otherwise.

 

[bradrollinondubz]

.

 

[airwaver]

Re: Latest Radio Promotion Gone Bad

NO, JDW -
-b the lawyers will ASK: "How much does THAT cost?"..

 

[jailart]

radio out of control? fairness doctrine /station ownership limits??

while on the surface this may seem like unrelated....In some ways this stunt will help get the fairness doctrine back....because it will add to the belief that radio is out of control...and needs balance....