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Erika Roman (Power 95.3) killed in accident

T

TonySantiago

I saw her at those monthly Freestyle concerts here in Orlando, the last one about a month or two ago. She will definitely be missed.
 
This is horrible.... May God be with her.... I guess Heaven has another talented air personality.. She was there back to the 95.3 Party days...... My thoughts and prayers are with her family, and her WPYO family,, she will be missed... Way too young to be taken from this world........ :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
 
I have worked in stations when popular on-air personalities have died suddenly. It's a difficult situation and there is no "right way" as to how to treat the matter on-air. I tuned into the Power 95.3 morning show on-line this morning to see how they were handling it. I could not listen very long. Her former co-workers sound far to "happy" in my opinion. Certainly I don't mean to imply that they are in any way happy about the passing of their co-worker/friend, but they also don't sound like they have suffered a devastating shock.

I suppose what I found most disconcerting is when one of the host (can't remember which) made a joke... the other responded by saying, oh if Erika were here... "she'd be dying right now". I had to shut it off after that comment. Way to insensitive of a comment to make IMHO. Perhaps I'm just overly-sensitive... but I think a persons passing should be treated with more care and (I'll say it) respect. While the "show must go on" it should be done in a manner that does not offend the sensitivities of the family and other listeners who may have felt a strong connection with the person who has passed. No easy job for sure.

R.I.P. Erika Roman.
 
According to wikipedia here's what the info says about the "Death of DJ Erika Roman"

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_953
 
Chris_Rose said:
I have worked in stations when popular on-air personalities have died suddenly. It's a difficult situation and there is no "right way" as to how to treat the matter on-air. I tuned into the Power 95.3 morning show on-line this morning to see how they were handling it. I could not listen very long. Her former co-workers sound far to "happy" in my opinion. Certainly I don't mean to imply that they are in any way happy about the passing of their co-worker/friend, but they also don't sound like they have suffered a devastating shock.

I suppose what I found most disconcerting is when one of the host (can't remember which) made a joke... the other responded by saying, oh if Erika were here... "she'd be dying right now". I had to shut it off after that comment. Way to insensitive of a comment to make IMHO. Perhaps I'm just overly-sensitive... but I think a persons passing should be treated with more care and (I'll say it) respect. While the "show must go on" it should be done in a manner that does not offend the sensitivities of the family and other listeners who may have felt a strong connection with the person who has passed. No easy job for sure.

R.I.P. Erika Roman.
Click to expand...

You are right Chris, especially in terms of being "no right way" of handling a sudden death of a colleague . However, this is where I'm actually going to play "devil's advocate" for a second.

Outside of family and friends, co-workers see a person a lot. They know of one's personality, their quirks, their strengths, etc. So for this to have happened, especially in light of the fact that they saw Erika leave the station Friday never THINKING that this would be the very last time they would see her alive, it must've been a huge shock to them. I would even think more so (outside of family and close friends) since they saw her daily.

I haven't heard the show but I have heard people talk about it. While I do think some of what was said may be considered poor taste, I also feel that if being put in a situation like this it would be very hard to know what to do or how to handle things. My "educated guess" here is that Erika's colleagues must have felt that she would have wanted the show to go on in the same fashion, as if she were there. Perhaps that is why they acted "business as usual" with "the show must go on" mentality as opposed to making it a sad tribute. It may have come off "insensitive" at times but I think the staff was trying to cope in their own way. There really is no right answer to this.

If someone on staff can verify that is indeed was the thinking, that would help comfort the people that may be upset about the way things might have been taken since you still have an audience grieving and mourning such a loss. I don't think the staff was purposely trying to be rude....it's a hard situation and I suppose they handled it the way they felt that Erika would have wanted them to.

FYI:

- A memorial for Erika Roman will be held Wednesday (5-6) @ 6:30 PM in Northland, A Church Distributed in Longwood
- Her wake will be open to the general public on Thursday (5-7) beginning at 2PM at Roberts Funeral Home, 606 Southwest 2nd Ave. in Ocala.

Being a New Yorker, she was VERY close to the freestyle community here, especially to Fever Records and Sal Abbatiello, who regarded her as a "daughter". A tribute page from Fever Records can be found at http://www.feverrecords.com/erikaromanrip.shtml

My heart goes out to her family and friends (in Florida as well as up here in New York)
 
I have known Obie and Lil' Shawn for over 5 years now, and believe me, that was NOT their intent. If I may speak in THEIR opinion, Erika would've wanted them to continue the show as usual.
When I found out about the passing of Erika, it was devastating even to myself! I work for one of their sister stations in the Cox Radio cluster, and I felt deep sorrow for their loss. A coworker of mine told me that they were there paying tribute on the air. As soon as I heard, I ran to their side to make sure they didn't need anything. Believe me, they are deeply hurt by this. It took a lot for them to swallow the tears while being on the air. If you haven't even seen the news on TV, it was difficult for Obie then! So please, don't think that they aren't feeling the pain. They are... and they will for a long time.

As far as the "dying" comment, you're taking it too serious. Granted, death is not something to joke about. In that particular case, you're taking it out of context. None of the listeners have taken anything out of context. Rather, they have been VERY supportive and giving kudos to them every single minute that they're on. The public has shown great response and support for Obie and Lil' Shawn, and it's much appreciated. Just the fact that they are still able to go on the air makes them BOTH true professionals, IMHO.

Power 95.3 is supposed to be an upbeat station. Behind the scenes, they did NOT want the show to be somber, and that's exactly how Erika would want them to feel too. So please, do not take offense to them being "too happy" for the show. They are continuing the show as planned, while reminiscing great memories of shows past with her. Obie and Lil' Shawn are like a one-of-a-kind meal, while Erika was the spice that gave the show its extra flavor. Plus, anytime that you saw her, there wasn't a moment where you didn't see her smile.

Erika will always be missed and respected forever and ever. Those caring eyes, bright smile, and spunky attitude made her the person she was. May God bless Erika in heaven, and bless her family, friends and coworkers through this tough time. I hope this answered your question Chris and Tony S.
 
TrafficMan71 said:
I have known Obie and Lil' Shawn for over 5 years now, and believe me, that was NOT their intent. If I may speak in THEIR opinion, Erika would've wanted them to continue the show as usual.
When I found out about the passing of Erika, it was devastating even to myself! I work for one of their sister stations in the Cox Radio cluster, and I felt deep sorrow for their loss. A coworker of mine told me that they were there paying tribute on the air. As soon as I heard, I ran to their side to make sure they didn't need anything. Believe me, they are deeply hurt by this. It took a lot for them to swallow the tears while being on the air. If you haven't even seen the news on TV, it was difficult for Obie then! So please, don't think that they aren't feeling the pain. They are... and they will for a long time.

As far as the "dying" comment, you're taking it too serious. Granted, death is not something to joke about. In that particular case, you're taking it out of context. None of the listeners have taken anything out of context. Rather, they have been VERY supportive and giving kudos to them every single minute that they're on. The public has shown great response and support for Obie and Lil' Shawn, and it's much appreciated. Just the fact that they are still able to go on the air makes them BOTH true professionals, IMHO.

Power 95.3 is supposed to be an upbeat station. Behind the scenes, they did NOT want the show to be somber, and that's exactly how Erika would want them to feel too. So please, do not take offense to them being "too happy" for the show. They are continuing the show as planned, while reminiscing great memories of shows past with her. Obie and Lil' Shawn are like a one-of-a-kind meal, while Erika was the spice that gave the show its extra flavor. Plus, anytime that you saw her, there wasn't a moment where you didn't see her smile.

Erika will always be missed and respected forever and ever. Those caring eyes, bright smile, and spunky attitude made her the person she was. May God bless Erika in heaven, and bless her family, friends and coworkers through this tough time. I hope this answered your question Chris and Tony S.
Click to expand...

Thank you :)

I've figured that with all that has happened, the staff wanted to do their show as Erika would have wanted. :)
 
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