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The Story of John and Ken's Meeting with African-American Coalition
- Thread starter emailfailed
- Start date
also: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-john-and-ken-20120228,0,7888481.story
What do I think? Who knows what goes on behind the scenes. For all I know J&K may have been dinged for saying over the top stuff before, and the Whitney Houston comment was the last straw....
What do I think? Who knows what goes on behind the scenes. For all I know J&K may have been dinged for saying over the top stuff before, and the Whitney Houston comment was the last straw....
charles hobbs said:
This is what happens when the station gives into even the slightest amount of political correctness. Management (we're talking about you, Robin and Greg) have handled this just about as poorly as can be. When some no-name rabble rouser who is on the air in some sleepy backwater tries to get a name for himself and his cause by throwing bogus racism charges over a decidedly non-racial rant made by the biggest stars on your station, you respond by saying:
"KFI and CC respect the concept of free speech and vigorous debate as basic American principles. John and Ken, like all of our hosts, have their own opinions, and on any given topic our hosts' opinions may or may not reflect the views of KFI management. In this case, they specifically do not represent the views of KFI management, however we recognize their right to voice them and will, in the name of free speech, continue to allow them a forum where many views, including possibly unpopular ones, are allowed to be discussed openly and honestly with our audience. Any other action would constitute a disservice to our listeners, who come to KFI for such open and honest dialogue on the important issues of the day."
Had they said this, management could have supported its stars (you know the ones that drive the ratings, which in turn, drives the cash flow), enhanced its "stimulating talk radio" brand, all the while distancing themselves from the "offensive views" that may have been expressed. Instead, management thought that by backtracking the comments, suspending the hosts, and offering an apology to anyone who claimed to be offended, the matter would die down and go away. Wrong! The nutcase activists only saw this as a sign of weakness and with the blood now all in the water, they, like any shark, went after their prey with full force. Now they are demanding more black representation and sensitivity training all around, and that might not be the end. They will decide when KFI has "done enough". Of course it won't ever be enough until Rush is replaced by Al Sharpton, because ultimately this is what it is all about - pure political power. It's what they want; it's what they'll get. Why? Because management had no spine and did not support its hosts when the chips were down.
Final Score: Nutcases 1, KFI 0. It didn't have to be that way.
emailfailed said:
Interesting that the lead photo in the article shows a banner reading "KFI Fearless". Also interesting that no place I find ever said that the J & K suspension was without pay. For all we know is they were taken off the air in what amounts to be a vacation with pay.
In the end it all drives more listeners as people who haven't listened to John and Ken before will tune in to see what all of the fuss is about. Whether they continue to listen only time will tell.
Also interesting is that there is a lot of commentary along the lines of "over the top". Well that is what they are paid to be. Was their "crack-ho" comment tasteless, yes it was. But it wasn't the first time and likely will not be the last because it is live radio and unscripted so stuff will be said. Will J & K be replaced by a minority hosted show, not likely unless there is one who will drive their level of ratings success. Will there be a minority oriented show in the backwaters of the weekends, I'd bet on it.
Shows what you know. If you think that KFI, or any commercial radio station for that matter, is a standard bearer for free speech, you are extremely deluded. They may wrap themselves in that flag from time to time when it suits them, but the number one, overriding mission of KFI and every other commercial radio station is to make money.
KFI is the number one station in what is most likely Clear Channel's number one market for revenue. This is more than just some "no-name, rabble rouser" trying to make a name for himself by creating a minor dust up with J&K. This was a national story and the kind of spotlight that CC definitely does not want to find itself in. Management acted swiftly and proactively to nip this in the bud before it could grow into a full scale conflagration. In the end, the dust will settle and John and Ken will survive to say crazy shit another day.
I do understand that is probably a dissapointment for you to learn that your vaunted idealogues will ultimately do or say anything (in this case, "I'm sorry") to make (or save) a buck, but that is the nature of the business.
robnokshus06 said:
In case you haven't noticed, all of their "I'm sorrys", suspensions and public mea culpas haven't got them anywhere and this has already grown into a "full-scale conflagration". When you have Najee Ali on you and the Urban League pounding their chest that "They (KFI) have to come back to us with a solid plan to improve this situation", and management is in fact reduced to granting "meetings and dialogues" with these people, you have already lost.
This has nothing to do with free speech naivete, this has to do with how to recognize when a full-scale political war has been launched against you and how to fight back. Nobody ever won a war by saying "I'm sorry".
And equal rights for people who stutter as well...I don't hear any people that stutter on the radio (except that "token" who used to be on the Stern show).
John Ziegler was there? He sure needs his 15 minutes of fame doesn't he. Which side was he on? Is Hugh Hewitt going to show-up next? Revenge of the radio ratings pipsqueaks?
Does this mean Larry Elder gets job security even though he has low ratings?
Other than KFI prime time hosts , and Piolin, etc., most LA talk radio people get crappy ratings anyway. White or Black.
Look at late night TV hosts: Leno, Letterman, Ferguson, Carson, Cabot, etc. except for Hall, John Rivers and (I forgot his name? Hispanic guy with the raspy voice.) They have all been white men or are white men.
You could put Oprah or Cosby on in the afternoon on AM radio and I bet they don't do well. People want an loud angry white men during drive time, on the English speaking stations at least.
John Ziegler was there? He sure needs his 15 minutes of fame doesn't he. Which side was he on? Is Hugh Hewitt going to show-up next? Revenge of the radio ratings pipsqueaks?
Does this mean Larry Elder gets job security even though he has low ratings?
Other than KFI prime time hosts , and Piolin, etc., most LA talk radio people get crappy ratings anyway. White or Black.
Look at late night TV hosts: Leno, Letterman, Ferguson, Carson, Cabot, etc. except for Hall, John Rivers and (I forgot his name? Hispanic guy with the raspy voice.) They have all been white men or are white men.
You could put Oprah or Cosby on in the afternoon on AM radio and I bet they don't do well. People want an loud angry white men during drive time, on the English speaking stations at least.
I suppose, from a listener standpoint, this is how it appears to you. From a management standpoint, this is one big headache that they wish would go away, and quickly. Believe me, Clear Channel is not interested in becoming embroiled in any kind of "Political War." This is radio. It is entertainment. Entertainment that they put on the air to gain ratings, and in turn revenue. If the entertainment begins to adversely affect the revenue stream, which a boycott of KFI or Clear Channel advertisers would do (THAT would be your full-scale conflagration), then something has to change with the entertainment. J&K would like to keep their jobs and CC would like to maintain their billings, so everyone is going through the motions and making nice.
The only ideology that Clear Channel subscribes to is Capitalism, pure and simple.
Wait til you see who they got lined up to preach to J&K if they say something wrong about Davy Jones...
nmoore6676 said:
I remember back in 1992-93, after the Rodney King Riots, KFI had one black host on Sunday afternoons. I forget his name, but he was really militant, defending things such as "Ebonics" ("Who are you to say that so-called Standard English should be the preferred way of speech"), etc. People would call up and use all sorts of nasty, racist names on him. I think he was brought on because people were calling KFI "racist," "K-K-K-F-I" and so on....
K-Billy said:
Fined. maybe (remember the Howard Stern cases) but taken off the air not likely. Clear Channel is too big and has too many Congressmen on the "payroll".
In truth the whole thing is window dressing to prove that they can act responsibly and be good community citizens. Again I remind you, has anyone ever said that J & K were suspended WITHOUT PAY? If they weren't then the whole episode is a toothless public relations ploy, including the meeting.
In any event this whole thing has been beaten into the ground and discussed ad nauseum so maybe it is time to move on.
Well it appears that CC's "efforts" at resolving this issue expediently have been limp, at best:
http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/a...iversity-plan-not-enough-for-activists-boycot
This is what Clear Channel was hoping to avoid and probably could have with a minimum amount of effort (or at least some effort). THIS is the full scale conflagration I alluded to earlier Flipper. We will see just how long J&K last now. This is a company with a $21,000,000,000 debt load, with $250-million due this year and $450-million due next year. My best guess is that someone in San Antonio is going to pull some strings and you are going to see some changes at CC LA.
Personally, I take no glee in seeing things like this happen. KFI may not be something that I listen to with any regularity, but they are a phenominal radio station. In pre-consolidation days, when stations were ingrained in their local communities, with local ownership, a situation like this may not have spiraled out of control or met with such vehemence. Unfortunately, today's radio companies are perceived as a bunch of corporate profiteers with little to no allegiance to their local communities. In this age of OWS, it's not hard to rally public opinion against a giant, un-feeling, corporate monolith.
It is going to be intersting to see how this plays out.
http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/a...iversity-plan-not-enough-for-activists-boycot
This is what Clear Channel was hoping to avoid and probably could have with a minimum amount of effort (or at least some effort). THIS is the full scale conflagration I alluded to earlier Flipper. We will see just how long J&K last now. This is a company with a $21,000,000,000 debt load, with $250-million due this year and $450-million due next year. My best guess is that someone in San Antonio is going to pull some strings and you are going to see some changes at CC LA.
Personally, I take no glee in seeing things like this happen. KFI may not be something that I listen to with any regularity, but they are a phenominal radio station. In pre-consolidation days, when stations were ingrained in their local communities, with local ownership, a situation like this may not have spiraled out of control or met with such vehemence. Unfortunately, today's radio companies are perceived as a bunch of corporate profiteers with little to no allegiance to their local communities. In this age of OWS, it's not hard to rally public opinion against a giant, un-feeling, corporate monolith.
It is going to be intersting to see how this plays out.
robnokshus06 said:
It will play out as it always does. The "activists" will milk out as much attention as the press and local media are willing to give them. National media will have lost interest in a week or two more. The timing will be on how boring the rest of the news is as the days and weeks pass. They will harass some advertisers who will largely ignore them as they are more interested in the greater audience of their favored demographics reachable on other clear channel outlets. Ads pulled from KFI will be transferred to those other stations so the net revenue lost by CC will be negligible.
In the end it will be just another tempest in a teapot and by May or June will have been forgotten by all parties.
I hope you're right. If they extend their boycott to ALL of Clear Channel advertisers though, that is a different story.
robnokshus06 said:
There are some advertisers who will pull ads based on community controversy but not many. Why, well because for a boycott to have an actual impact people as in consumers need to stop buying their products or using their services. The crisis in our national and local governments should tell you that no one is truly concerned enough to disrupt their personal comfort levels to take a stand and make an effective impact on policy.
So if people are using a company's offerings and they are content and gratified by the products they will not alter their lifestyle and give up what they enjoy and have convinced themselves that they need. These so called activists on the other hand have no real jobs and have made a life's work in being anti something or another. They are a small group but can be very vocal and the media in it's need for sensational controversies feeds their craving for fame by giving them air time and print space. It doesn't matter if it is a minority coalition in Los Angeles or a Koran burning Church in Florida they are all wing nuts and have no real control over anyone with a brain and/or a desire for creature comforts.
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