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Saturday, May 18, 2013
Local Radio Show Takes Heat, Loses Advertisers Over Transgender Comments
by Matthew Keys, published on June 5, 2009 at 12:12 AM
Storyline: Local Media
Three companies have decided to pull their advertisement support from KRXQ 98.5, better known on-air as "98Rock," following a controversial discussion about transgendered children on the station's breakfast show "Rob, Arnie & Dawn."
During the May 28th discussion, show presenters Rob Williams and Arnie States read from a news article describing a male child in another state as being permitted to enroll in school as a female.
"God forbid if my son put on a pair of high heels, I would probably hit him with one of my shoes," States quipped.
Williams and States then took turns receiving listener phone calls, during which they called transgendered people "freaks," "fruits" and claimed that transgendered people suffered from "medical conditions" in which they felt the need to "bring attention to themselves." The shows third presenter, Dawn Rossi, appeared distressed during the segment.
"Those that really have this, it is a struggle for them! It is heart-wrenching for them! They have always felt like a different sex! And they've never felt like themselves."
In response to the May 28th discussion, the organization GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) issued a statement on its blog, saying it was working with the organization Trans Youth Family Allies to bring attention to the segment and solicit a response and apology from station management.
"GLAAD has reached out to KRXQ management to communicate our serious concerns and demand an apology. We are waiting for their reply," the blog read on June 1st.
"They never meant to advocate any form of abuse," station manager Jim Fox told The Sacramento Bee's 21Q blog.
"I think it's ridiculous to think that I'm advocating violence against kids," States responded on the program June 3rd. "I know a lot of people don't understand this, that's a joke. Maybe you find that to be a tasteless joke, but I have never advocated for parents to beat their children."
States also pointed out that the show has held 29-hour broadcasts benefitting the U.C. Davis Children's Hospital network annually since 2007.
The presenters went on to defend their controversial dialogue, stating that opinions should be freely expressed regardless of how they're interpreted.
"That's what makes this country great," Rossi said in defense of Willams and States. "The minute we start telling Arnie he can't say that, then somebody's going to tell me I can't defend transgender people."
"You guys imply that all you have to do is...whack my non-existant child with a shoe if he goes clopping around the house in high heels," commented a listener who identified herself as a male-to-female transgender who previously had served in the US armed forces for 22 years. "Don't you think that all the abuse that I took in school would have changed that basic nature in me?"
"Thank you for your service, but let me just say this right now," quipped an angered States. "You fought (in the armed forces) for nothing! With the opinions that you have right there, you fought for absolutely nothing!"
Anyone who expected an apology from two-parts of the breakfast show trio were left with only points of clarification for the controversial dialogue, and that didn't sit well with gay and lesbian organizations.
"While it was heartening for us to hear that Rob Williams and Arnie States did not advocate for violence against children," GLAAD reported on their blog, "they also did not hold themselves accountable for their dehumanizing and defamatory words used to describe transgender children in last week’s show."
That didn't sit well with advertisers either. Shortly after Wednesday's show aired, the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group wrote an e-mail to GLAAD announcing they were pulling their advertisement-based support for KRXQ.
"We found the segment to be offensive," a statement released by the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group read, "and as a result, we are pulling our Snapple advertising from the station."
Chipotle Mexican Grill and Sonic Corporation also announced that day they, too, were pulling advertisement support for the station in response to the offensive comments.
"SONIC in no way condones violence toward children and does not wish to be associated with media content that condones or promotes such activity in any way"
The Rob, Arnie and Dawn Show, which is owned and produced by Williams, continues to air weekday mornings on KRXQ 98.5 FM in Sacramento and in syndication on KDOT 104.5 FM in Reno. The 12-year radio program has been no stranger to controversy in the past; in 2004, the show was fined $55,000 by the Federal Communications Counsel for "on-air indecency" following a complaint filed by James Peak.
Link: Listen to the original May 28th conversation
Link: Rob, Arnie & Dawn's response on June 3rd (part 1) (part 2)
Link: Local Radio Morning Program Upset Some Over Transgender Comments (FOX40, June 2nd)
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Oh yeah, you just scream acceptance. If standing up for transgender children doesn't make me look any better to you, too bad. You and I don't have the right to hurl insults at your boss or our customers without being fired. Why shouldn't they be held to the same standards as the rest of us? This is not a free speech issue. I would never get away with saying what they said at my place of employment. If they were getting arrested for what they said then it would be a free speech issue.
and your Right to have hate spewed to enjoy your morning drive,doesn't stack up so well against protecting little KIDS.
I hope they lose their show over this.
It takes a village...to support a radio show.
This is condoning sensorship, free speach is a fundamental right here in the US. They are doing nothing more than expressing their right. They are after all a talk show, that's what they do is "talk" about their views and opinions.
You are not sheep if you continue to listen to them, quite the oposite actually. You are sheep if you follow the mindless crying society that is complaining about someones opinion. Jump on the bandwagon and wave your fingers at them all you want, I promis they are not going away.
btw these two hate jocks have had to pay TWO $55,000.00 fines for inappropriate sexual content.
THIS is strike THREE.......toss em out
When hate groups couldn't jazz up the level of hatred against gays and lesbians they switched their focus to Transgender people, calling them "she-males" and attempting to frighten women in restrooms. These two clods don't even have the courage to attack adult transgender women and men.....NO they attack the absolute weakest and most defenseless transgender beings....little kids.
There needs to be a line in the sand, NO CHILD is going to be abused or ridiculed to give a couple slimey hate jocks RATINGS......we are BETTER than that.
PLEASE step up and join Snapple, Chipotle, Bank of America, and Sonics
to protect EVERY child
Not a single remarg any of them has ever said in their history of radio has condoned violence against kids.
Do not let Marks slanderous remarks fool you. Think what you will of Rob and Arnies opinions, you can disagree with them all you want as your American right. But do NOT try to strip away or deny them of their American right to have that opinion.
Pulling the "freedom of speech card" isn't a charge card.
I am not upset at people for asking places to pull their ads. Likewise I will not shop anywhere that does because I believe they are cowards for doing so.
What I don't like is people saying that RAD condone child abuse. It's slander and completly untrue. You are only saying it to get your way.
"Hey everyone, it's Carl's Jr. for lunch today!
Dear Concerned Reader,
Thank you for your email. We have pulled all of our ads from KXRQ. (they got the call letters wrong) We did this as soon as the matter was brought to our attention.
We appreciate your concern and thank you for contacting CKE Restaurants on this matter.
Regards,
CKE, Public Relations
Guest Response Line: (877) 799-7827
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-rowe/krxq-sacramento-radio-hos_b_210637.html?page=2&show_comment_id=25207401#postComment
from Huffington Post
thx bluheron
5 companies have pulled their ads now.
If they had said
"i don't like transgendered people."
"I do not believe that kids are old enough or mentally competent enough to make a decision concerning their gender identity."
"I don't agree with the parents who allow their children to make this step into being transgendered."
"in my opinion this is wrong and should stop."
If that had been the way they addressed this issue, most of the people that are upset would never have heard about it, never cared. Because you are right people can express their opinions, they should.
They did not do this, they called them names, insulted them, used hate speech and defamation.
There is a huge difference.
"If the kid ever gets to be eighteen," States said, "and says 'I still feel like a woman!' you say, 'Get out! Go be a freak! And understand, SON, that society will never accept you because we still have some moral judgment."
"A boy who wants to wear a dress is a freak. A nut."
"I look forward to when they go out into society and society beats them down. And they wind up in therapy."
"Allowing transgenders to exist, pretty soon it becomes normal to fall in love with the animals,"
McDonald's is paying them to say it.
I love that my comments on your page don't get posted, a perfect example of sensorship just as you want to sensor the Rob Arnie and Dawn show.
But yet you come here to spout off your garbage.
When you make the account so that you can post you agree to their terms.
If what you say violates their terms, your post will not be published.
On a private server, website, station, they can censor anyone they want.
And as I said above I do not care if people don't like people that are different then them.
I do care when they verbally or physically bash and attack people that are different then themsleves.
Physicall bashing is not even part of this discussion, we are talking about words on the radio here. Furthermore the majority of the comments against RAD are centered around "condoning violence against children" which is absolutly obsurd.
Calling someone a "freak" and saying the have "mental" issues is an opinion and if you don't like someones opinion then don't listen to it. You don't strip away their right to have that opinion. It is thigns like this that will eventually ruin our country.
Furthermore, you have no idea (unless you work for the huff) what I said, and I know for a fact it did not violate the terms. It simply was not posted because I don't agree with 99% of the comments there.
It's not censorship. It's a facilitation for civilized dialogue. You can make your point to someone without getting nasty.
The Sacramento Press has not taken any of mrlucky2u posts down. I suppose that he is referring to another site.
We do have terms of use and we will enforce them, particularly if language or unnecessary personal attacks pop up on this or any thread.
Verizon will no longer run ads on the radio station.
http://glaadblog.org/2009/06/05/verizoncarl/
Sonic,
Verizon,
Carls Jr.
Snapple,
Cipotle,
Bank of America.
Our advertising purchase with this show ended June 1 and we will not renew it."
http://glaadblog.org/2009/06/05/update-nissan-wont-renew-krxq-advertising-contract/
8 sponsors gone and counting:
# Chipotle
# Snapple
# Sonic
# Bank of America
# Verizon
# Carl’s Jr (CKE Restaurants)
# Wells Fargo
# Nissan North Americ
The story is being updated here as well:
http://www.fox40.com/news/headlines/ktxl-news-radcontroversy0605,0,4345342.story
I guess this kind of thing will continue to happen until we all walk in line.
got any other bedtime stories....huh.....Bill?
or is it Jim Fox or maybe Rob????
uh the difference is Dixie Chicks made a pretty timid comment about the most powerful politician on EARTH, saying they were embarrassed to be from the state.
Whereas Rob and Arnie picked on the MOST acceptable group to discriminate against ....transgender people.
Even then these big manly men went after NOT ADULT trans people....no they decided to spew vile hatred at KIDS.......gosh ain't ya proud of the warriors?
moral of this story........."pick on somebody your OWN SIZE"
you pick on little KIDS, and we'll come at you like a lioness with her cubs endangered.
I happen to be Jewish, and because of my family I am hyper-aware of pre-WWII stories about 'Kristallnacht', where the media, then primitive by today's standards, promoted inhuman and licentious conduct against Jewish and other minority individuals and groups, including homosexuals, that resulted in harm to countless victims of this legitimized hate.
The public owns the airwaves, and licensees exist to provide a service, including public service. Hate, in all its expressions and forms, does not serve the public. Licensees have a responsibility to ensure public benefit and not to harm public safety. Expressions of hate that foment and incite, such as those made by the KRXQ licensees/airhost personalities against the LGBT community as it struggles for civil equality. Their actions are reprehensible, and I am gratified that advertisers are pulling their support of this trash.
I do not advocate censorship however. I *DO* advocate regulatory oversight when hate-radio or other hate-media promotes speech that actually harms groups or individuals, such as the tie between Bill O'Reilly's comments about one Dr. Tiller, the ob/gyn physician who was murdered last week at the hand of an adherent to right wing zealotry against abortion providers.
The KRXQ hosts went way too far, perhaps stupidly, perhaps cynically as a calculated effort to boost ratings. Nonetheless they now need to be held accountable for doing so, for their speech can potentially harm others, and was made very irresponsibly. This sort of 'entertainment' is merely a currying to the basest fears and angers of a stupid audience at a time when these same people are seeking to blame anyone for the problems that no doubt plague their lives. In doing so, the KRXQ hosts' actions are like shouting 'fire' in a crowded theater, where no fire exists.
Their conduct was an outrage, and this MUST stop!
I’m in no way guaranteeing that the show will survive this, I hope they do and would be surprised if they don’t, I’m really just curious as to what you will do with all this anger and emotion.
This is a touchy subject of course but you all seem to really want to agitate each other as apposed to working together to better society…
“they must go, they are a terrible show, they are terrible people…” and so on
Vs
“freedom of speech, turn the channel”
Someone above me posted something about how if the show had approached the topic a different way, used more neutral language, this would have never happened. Can’t the same be said of the people offended by the show? What if GLAAD had called the show before saying or doing anything publicly? What if they had instead tried to engage a real dialogue with the show and not go the media sledgehammer/we are going to get your advertisers route? Is it possible they missed a golden chance to sway people to their cause that would have had an enormous effect on public opinion? This show does after all carry a large amount of ratings.
In the end your arguments hurt your own position (some of you more than others) I long for the day when this country learns that it is more effective to convince someone your right instead of just bashing them over the head with your opinions till they get tired and give in…maybe one day…
One side uses ABUSING CHILDREN to get ratings
and MY side says...."OH HELL NO"
I like my side's position in the long run, and I would have a lot of trouble if I supported the first side, or if I sat SILENT and did NOTHING., and still look at myself in a mirror
im just tickled to death advertisers are pulling money in order to NOT support such awful jokes. isn't our country great? id say ill never listen to the show again, but i'm an honest sort, so ill have to admit that i can't stand the show and never could. id wish those two have gay kids, but, hell...i like gay kids, so, no.
shelly
J
Ain't living in America GRAND?
Christina