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Fired

E

edthedeal

Guest
Billboard report



A St. Louis talk show host has been sacked for using a racial epithet while talking about secretary of state Condoleezza Rice.

The firing occurred after CH Holdings’ news talk and sports KTRS (the Big 550) late morning talker Dave Lenihan, who had been at the station for less than two weeks, used the word "coon" in an otherwise positive on-air discussion of Rice.

During the discussion, Lenihan suggested that Rice should replace retiring National Football League commissioner Paul Tagliabue, which is reportedly a job Rice has shown past interest in.

"She's been chancellor of Stanford," Lenihan said. "She’s just got a patent resume, of somebody that’s got such serious skill. She loves football. She's African-American, which would kind of be a big coon. A big coon. Oh my God. I am totally, totally, totally, totally, totally sorry for that."

He said he had meant to say "coup."

Lenihan apologized immediately after making what he said was a slip of the tongue. While station GM Tim Dorsey agreed the remark was accidental, he said it was nonetheless "unacceptable, reprehensible and unforgivable."

Twenty minutes after the utterance, Dorsey went on the air to apologize to Rice and KTRS listeners, a number of whom had called to complain.

"There can be no excuse for what was said," Dorsey said. "Dave Lenihan has been let go. ... There is enough hate. We certainly are not going to fan those flames."

"It was my dream job," Lenihan later told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "Ratings were going well. It kind of stinks."
<P ID="signature">______________
America most awful Hip Hop station list , KS107.5 Denver , KLUC Las Vegas , and Wired in Philly .</P>
 
> "She's been chancellor of Stanford," Lenihan said. "She’s
> just got a patent resume, of somebody that’s got such
> serious skill. She loves football. She's African-American,
> which would kind of be a big coon. A big coon. Oh my God. I
> am totally, totally, totally, totally, totally sorry for
> that."
>
> He said he had meant to say "coup."

It reads that way as well. It sounds like a simple slip of the tongue and his apology should have been the end of it.

> "There can be no excuse for what was said," Dorsey said.
> "Dave Lenihan has been let go. ... There is enough hate. We
> certainly are not going to fan those flames."

Sounds like overreach -if- there is no past history of disciplinary issues or other racial jokes in his past.

If his ratings were doing well, he might find himself where a Rochester talk show host found himself for a few months - in the punishment corner. His offense was running a skit calling the African-American mayor of the city of Rochester an orangutan let loose from the zoo and now running for the county executive position. He's back on the air today after suitable time out.
 
Fear of conservatives, not fear of liberal civil rights activists, motivated the firing

Had this host not been canned, conservatives would have been all over KTRS, accusing the station of Belafonte-ism, letting African-American conservatives be lampooned in a way that would not be allowed with black liberals.

KTRS has an almost impossible task. It is trying to do Jacor-style shock radio 1990 style for a market that never had it, while at the same time trying to toe the line on FCC regs in 2006 and avoid offending a baseball team that got a
DJ fired back in 2002 for saying something out of line to Darryl Kile's widow.
Not exactly great champions of free speech signing the checks nowadays at The Big 550...
 
>> "She's been chancellor of Stanford," Lenihan said. "She’s
>> just got a patent resume, of somebody that’s got such
>> serious skill. She loves football. She's African-American,
>> which would kind of be a big coon. A big coon. Oh my God.
>> I am totally, totally, totally, totally, totally sorry for
>> that."

>> He said he had meant to say "coup."

> It reads that way as well. It sounds like a simple slip of
> the tongue and his apology should have been the end of it.

It's his inexperience showing that got him fired. You can not emphasize your mistakes, especially mistakes that could be perceived as racial.

Had it gone like this:

"She's been chancellor of Stanford," Lenihan said. "She’s
just got a patent resume, of somebody that’s got such
serious skill. She loves football. She's African-American,
which would kind of be a big coon. coup for the NFL"

At that point had he just continued with his praise of Rice and her qualifications for the job, anyone that would have noticed would know it was just a slip of the tongue. The OH MY GOD I'M SORRY SORRY SORRY part is what did him in.

ALSO, where was the producer with the DUMP button? In fact, shouldn't Lenihan have had a dump button next to him as well, or does a station trying to be relevent think they don't need a Delay?
<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by gassoff on 03/23/06 11:14 PM.</FONT></P>
 
> Why they thought they should hire a guy from WGNU is beyond
> me to begin with.
>
I think people don't realize why he got fired. I cannot imagine they would have fired him if KTRS was not the new home of the Cardinals. Plus the Cardinals own the majority stake in the station now. I think Dorsey is making sure that he isn't in the press all over negatively as opening day for baseball is coming around.
 
> If his ratings were doing well, he might find himself where
> a Rochester talk show host found himself for a few months -


And where does the Liberal Law of "Political Correctness" fit in here?<P ID="signature">______________
We send you a $1 every other day. Please fill out your diaries.

Please help Err Amerika: http://larslarson.com/LinksNStuff/LarsSpoofs/Attachment_GetAttachment.aspx?id=1466&fd=0
</P><P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by mr_arbitron on 03/24/06 02:54 AM.</FONT></P>
 
It's Live, Unscripted Radio, People

I can empathize: who among us hasn't made at least one verbal miscue while on-air? Happens everyday, everywhere, too. His was only the latest and appears to have been accidental. Perhaps he misprounced her name as "Coondaleeza"...who knows?

Now, if he had dropped the "N-bomb"...well, that one would have been hard to dismiss as a slip o' the tongue and I'd agree that THAT dismissal had merit. In this case, however, he apologized on-air immediately for offending; I'd have left it at that if I were management there.

George Carlin should re-work his "Seven Words You Can't Say On-Air" routine to include every POSSIBLE word that ANYone might find offensive; if he did that, there would be NO talk-hosts willing to say even "Good Morning" because SOMEone might just be offended.

Remember what Grandma used to say to you when you were a kid and the other kids teased you: "Sticks and stones..." You remember the rest...and, it still applies.
 
FCC Running Amok

> Not exactly great champions of free speech signing the
> checks nowadays at The Big 550...
>

I'd posit that fear of the FCC and their mega-fines for practically anything might have been in the backs of their minds.

Plus, Condy Rice is Bush's girl; ya don't want to make Dubya angry, now, do ya? He just might decide to invade and occupy your radio station. :cool:
 
Re: FCC Running Amok

> > Not exactly great champions of free speech signing the
> > checks nowadays at The Big 550...
> >
>
> I'd posit that fear of the FCC and their mega-fines for
> practically anything might have been in the backs of their
> minds.
>
> Plus, Condy Rice is Bush's girl; ya don't want to make Dubya
> angry, now, do ya? He just might decide to invade and occupy
> your radio station. :cool:

The Commission can't fine for this. It's not indecent or obscene speech. Stupid, yes. Not illegal.
 
> And where does the Liberal Law of "Political Correctness"
> fit in here?

There is no liberal law of political correctness.
 
Re: It's Live, Unscripted Radio, People

Though blacks can get away with saying the N-word (in rap songs or as a
"term of endearment" believe it or not)...

---
From Afro-Centric News: "Some people, young and old say that ***** is just a word. It is a term of endearment used to acknowledge or recognize a homeboy, a friend, your crew, or just someone you know, as in "what's up my *****?" It's just flavor, besides, white folks say (BLEEP), Black folks say *****, you know, with flava."
---

DC Mayoral Staffer Lost Job for saying "Niggardly" (Webster's Tenth Edition defines the word 'niggardly' to "grudgingly mean about spending or granting".)

http://www.adversity.net/special/niggardly.htm

> Now, if he had dropped the "N-bomb"...well, that one would
> have been hard to dismiss as a slip o' the tongue and I'd
> agree that THAT dismissal had merit. <P ID="signature">______________
raccoonradio5ap.gif
</P>
 
Its About DELAY, Stupid

The entire management ought to be
fired for failing to have a delay!

I know of one station that used TWO delays,
one in the studio and one in the PD's office.
 
Re: It's Live, Unscripted Radio, People

> Though blacks can get away with saying the N-word (in rap
> songs or as a
> "term of endearment" believe it or not)...
>
> ---
> From Afro-Centric News: "Some people, young and old say that
> ***** is just a word. It is a term of endearment used to
> acknowledge or recognize a homeboy, a friend, your crew, or
> just someone you know, as in "what's up my *****?" It's just
> flavor, besides, white folks say (BLEEP), Black folks say
> *****, you know, with flava."
> ---
Ok and Ladies called each other Bitch all the time but if a man call a lady a Bitch , All Hell will brake out .Lady D ( Boston D J ) used to call herself a bitch on the air all the time but if a male D J call her a bitch , He will most likely get fired . <P ID="signature">______________
America most awful Hip Hop station list , KS107.5 Denver , KLUC Las Vegas , and Wired in Philly .</P>
 
Re: Its About DELAY, Stupid

Keith Kramer is a TOTAL piece of sh*t for trashing his former workmate on the way out the door. After all the offensive things he's said in his career, to trash Dave like he has takes a lot of chutzpah and very little brainpower.
 
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