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WSPD's Brian Wilson Under Fire Over "Little Monkeys" Comments

DToTheJ

DToTheJ

Last Friday, Brian Wilson on WSPD in nearby Toledo, during a rant about the local public school system, likened its students to "little monkeys", even going so far as to illustrate "teaching [them] to peel bananas."

This angered TPS to the point that the head of the local Federation of Teachers is calling for the FCC to rescind WSPD's license over the remark.

More info:
http://toledoblade.com/article/20110110/NEWS16/110109504/-1/NEWS

The irony is that he was probably making these comments in the confines of his studio in Lynchburg, VA.
 
DToTheJ said:
Last Friday, Brian Wilson on WSPD in nearby Toledo, during a rant about the local public school system, likened its students to "little monkeys", even going so far as to illustrate "teaching [them] to peel bananas."

This angered TPS to the point that the head of the local Federation of Teachers is calling for the FCC to rescind WSPD's license over the remark.

More info:
http://toledoblade.com/article/20110110/NEWS16/110109504/-1/NEWS

The irony is that he was probably making these comments in the confines of his studio in Lynchburg, VA.
Click to expand...

Not like Brian ever had much friends in the Toledo establishment to begin with. Especially the Toledo Blade. ;)

I'm only surprised that he's still remote-controlling WSPD's PD position from Lynchburg as well... and has been since fleeing the city because the smell 'made him sick.' Oof. I've heard of a station running on autopilot, but this is really pushing it...
 
I was more interested in the letters regarding the rescued dog that was tragically euthanized. :(

Besides, most WSPD listeners have been so turned off by the Rusty Blade in recent years - the Iott fiasco notwithstanding - so much so that they probably canceled their subscriptions outright long ago. Grossly misreporting a story like this (with a pseudo editorial correction I betcha none of those writers actually read) only served to antagonize the segment of the populace that already hated Wilson to begin with - most of which still have Blade subscriptions.

And how can anyone can that ethical?
 
First of all, a talk show host should excise the loaded phrase "little monkeys" from his vocabulary, period. It's a verbal bomb in 2011.

That said, the Blade almost appears a stalker when it comes to Brian Wilson.

The articles about his broadcasting from Virginia? I didn't realize it until I saw the newspaper in a local library, but they were on THE FRONT PAGE.

That's right, Brian Wilson's physical broadcast location resulted in some sort of in-person reporting hundreds of miles away (when newspapers are lucky to cover news within a few blocks of their office), the Blade considered it FRONT PAGE NEWS.

Huh?

At the very least, the Blade paid a freelancer in Virginia to snoop into Brian and Carol's house. That's ridiculous and borderline disgusting, whether you like Brian Wilson or whether you think he should be pulled off the air.

You want to write about a controversial local talk radio host who has moved out of town? Mention it in the media column, and ask him why, and print his response. Brian Wilson "secretly" moving out of Toledo and broadcasting from Virginia is not front page news, in Toledo or any other market.

And as it turns out, the "little monkeys" comment was not at all what the Blade reported it was. They let their bias against him get in the way of factual reporting.

And you can bet that the original story was on page one, and the "correction" was buried on the editorial page.
 
OhioMediaWatch said:
First of all, a talk show host should excise the loaded phrase "little monkeys" from his vocabulary, period. It's a verbal bomb in 2011.

That said, the Blade almost appears a stalker when it comes to Brian Wilson.

The articles about his broadcasting from Virginia? I didn't realize it until I saw the newspaper in a local library, but they were on THE FRONT PAGE.

That's right, Brian Wilson's physical broadcast location resulted in some sort of in-person reporting hundreds of miles away (when newspapers are lucky to cover news within a few blocks of their office), the Blade considered it FRONT PAGE NEWS.

Huh?

At the very least, the Blade paid a freelancer in Virginia to snoop into Brian and Carol's house. That's ridiculous and borderline disgusting, whether you like Brian Wilson or whether you think he should be pulled off the air.

You want to write about a controversial local talk radio host who has moved out of town? Mention it in the media column, and ask him why, and print his response. Brian Wilson "secretly" moving out of Toledo and broadcasting from Virginia is not front page news, in Toledo or any other market.

And as it turns out, the "little monkeys" comment was not at all what the Blade reported it was. They let their bias against him get in the way of factual reporting.

And you can bet that the original story was on page one, and the "correction" was buried on the editorial page.
Click to expand...

I just remembered that the late Neil Rogers, a talk God in Miami, often did his shows via ISDN from a home studio in Canada during his last few years. And no one thought it important to complain.

Besides, Brian had a legitimate reason to move out to Virginia, but would you really tell your audience that you're moving because the air around you in Toledo is making you ill? The Rusty Blade would have gone after him regardless.

And if it weren't for DCRTV.com posting a link to the Blade's pseudo-correction (because Wilson had past experience in Baltimore radio) I never would have noticed that.
 
Excellent editorial by the Free Press, with a detailed timeline of the whole mess.

And that's really what this was: a mess.

Brian Wilson uttered two "unfortunate words", but they were taken wholly out of context by a newspaper which clearly has a major agenda with Wilson.

They do not carry out the agenda in editorials or opinion columns, they carry it out in over-the-top biased news reporting designed to showcase any problems with Wilson and shine a front page spotlight on his failings.

What a talk show host says on the radio from 3-6 PM is NOT FRONT PAGE NEWS. (I've said that before, I think.)

Heck, the Blade would be a lot smarter if they ignored the heck out of Brian Wilson. They're giving him loads of free publicity. How much would it cost Clear Channel to put a front page ad for WSPD in the Blade?

And they're giving him show material, too.

All because it's quite apparent that the newspaper's management hates Brian Wilson, and will do anything to "make him look bad". And that has blinded their news reporting. Not the editorials, not opinion columns, but news reporting.
 
The Blade is to Brian Wilson, as Media Matters is to Glenn Beck.

(Of course, The Blade is a major news organization...)
 
DToTheJ said:
The Blade is to Brian Wilson, as Media Matters is to Glenn Beck.

(Of course, The Blade is a major news organization...)
Click to expand...

To compare the Rusty Blade to Media Matters (hardly the definition of a reputable news outlet) is fitting. The Rusty Blade ceded any and all journalistic objectivity when they went on this continuous bender against Brian Wilson.

They make all other newspapers in Ohio look bad.
 
OhioMediaWatch said:
First of all, a talk show host should excise the loaded phrase "little monkeys" from his vocabulary, period. It's a verbal bomb in 2011.
Click to expand...

Sadly, your comment illustrates exactly what the Blade had hoped to stir up, some sort of racial connection.

Here's a question for you -- last year's Careerbuilder commercials during the Super Bowl, which featured a man working with an office full of monkeys -- should that be "excised"? Why or why not? Were there racial overtones in that commercial? Was that (white) man working in an office that was of one race?

The Blade made the comment racial. Brian Wilson never mentioned race in any part of that show. When did monkey become a racially-charged word when used in regular conversation? What the Blade has tried to do is equate the word "monkey" with yelling "fire" in a crowded theatre. You're supporting that position with your comment.

Certainly, when talking about race or racial issues, "monkey" is a loaded term. But to say that the term should be "excised" regardless of content, is like saying you can't use the word "bitch" when talking about a female dog because someone might be offended, even though bitch is listed in the dictionary as (n) "a female dog".
 
Radiomania said:
Certainly, when talking about race or racial issues, "monkey" is a loaded term. But to say that the term should be "excised" regardless of content, is like saying you can't use the word "bitch" when talking about a female dog because someone might be offended, even though bitch is listed in the dictionary as (n) "a female dog".
Click to expand...

He didn't say talk-show hosts shouldn't be allowed to use the term, he just said it's not a good idea in this day and age. And the 'bitch' comment applies to the college radio station I'm on, we're not allowed to say it at all, which confounds me to no end because our station is online only, and most regular AM/FM stations can say it anyway.
 
almaniac27 said:
He didn't say talk-show hosts shouldn't be allowed to use the term, he just said it's not a good idea in this day and age.
Click to expand...

Exactly. And for better or for worse, the Blade did "run with it", and SOME people were offended by the comment...apparently, wholly taken out of context presented to them by the Blade reporters who covered the story.

If he doesn't say the phrase, in any context, the Blade has no story.
 
You didn't answer the question -- when did it become politically incorrect to talk about monkeys or primates on the air in a non-racial context? If I go by what you're saying, I should not talk about the Monkees singing group, or say I'll be a monkey's uncle, or talk about how Dave Garroway had J. Fred Muggs, a monkey, on the air with him. How is it you can unilaterally say that using the word monkey should be excised from one's vocabulary?

If it wasn't used as a racial term, if race wasn't even being talked about, if there's no racial connection at all -- how can you say "if he didn't use the phrase"? To use that logic, ANYTHING ANYONE says can be taken out of context at some point in time -- there are a million examples. If I talk about graham crackers on the air and someone takes that out of context, is that a word I should never use on the air? Should we not announce that the Church of Christ is closed due to a snowstorm? Is that offensive too?

Think about it. You're suggesting that any word that MIGHT be offensive to anyone should not be used on the air. That's not only irrational political-correctness, it's also impossible in the live pressure cooker that's talk radio. If you've ever been on the air, live, without a script for a few hours, I think you'll know how impossible it is to self-edit in case of possible offense whenever you're talking about a subject.
 
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