Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "krxq"

98Rock Morning Show Apologizes For Transgender, Child Abuse Comments

2009-06-11T17:59:22Z

Following nearly a week's worth of silence and with over a dozen advertisers lost, a Sacramento-based radio program returned to the airwaves with an apology in response to some off-color comments that drew national attention and criticism.

Rob Williams and Arnie States, two-thirds of KRXQ's "Rob, Arnie & Dawn Show," apologized Thursday morning for comments they made two weeks ago in which they referred to members of the transgender community as "freaks," "fruits" and as experiencing "mental defects" meant to "draw attention to themselves."

The comments made during the May 28th broadcast angered child advocacy and transgender groups, the effect of which was the withdrawing or cancellation of agreement to financially support KRXQ by Chipotle, Snapple, Sonic, Bank of America, Verizon Wireless, Carl's Jr., Nissan North America, AT&T, McDonald's, Sleep Train and Guitar World.

However, Rob Williams say it was the show's fans who made the presenters realize they had pushed the line too far.

"We are here today to make things right with the people who give us our free speech -- our audience," Williams said at the beginning of today's program. "Our audience made it clear that our initial comments were over the line, that they expected us to make things right."

"My ignorance prevented me from understanding how hard a transgender's life is day to day...and I am very sorry for that," States said today during KRXQ's two-and-a-half-hour, commercial-free broadcast. "I ignorantly thought that name-calling was just that. Due to my ignorance, I was wrong."

Thursday's show aired following Williams and States' initial response to their May 28th comments on June 3rd in which Williams and States defended their comments and refused to apologize.

"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. In a letter to station management on June 8th, Dr. Claire Pomeroy announced U.C. Davis Children's Hospital Network was severing their ties with KRXQ over the controversial comments.

"The events of May 28th and the station's lack of a publicly articulated response to those events are inconsistent with UC Davis' values and mission," the letter read. "We are, first and foremost, an institution of learning and teaching, committed to advancing health and well-being for all. We affirm the right of freedom of expression, within the bounds of courtesy, sensitivity and respect. The statements made by [Williams and States] were outside those bounds."

U.C. Davis Children's Network said they will re-evaluate their relationship with the station at the end of 2009.

Thursday morning's program solicited phone calls from the community and featured transgender advocates Autumn Sandeen and Kim Pearson. The show was heavily promoted by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) organization, which encouraged supporters to listen and call in to this morning's program. The organization had previously encouraged supporters to write to the station's advertisers.

A statement by GLAAD regarding this morning's program on KRXQ was not available as of 11AM Thursday.

The Rob, Arnie and Dawn Show, which is owned and produced by Williams, continues to air weekday mornings on KRXQ 98.5 FM, known on-air as "98Rock" in Sacramento, and in syndication on KDOT 104.5 FM in Reno.

98Rock's Rob Williams To Fans: "We Have Failed You"

2009-06-07T22:10:28Z

Amid a sleugh of advertiser withdrawals and facing heat from the GLBT community, Rob Williams, one-third of KRXQ's "Rob, Arnie & Dawn" morning show, posted a statement on the show's website that can be summed up in four words: "We have failed you."

"We presented our opinions on a very sensitive subject in a hateful, childish and crude fashion," Williams wrote on his website, RobArnieAndDawn.com in a letter to listeners, "and then, given the chance to retract those remarks, we defended them."

The response comes nearly two weeks following an on-air segment in which Williams and co-host Arnie States called members of the transgendered community "freaks," "fruits" and describing them as having a "mental disorder" in which transgenders "bring attention to themselves."

"God forbid if my son put on a pair of high heels, I would probably hit him with one of my shoes," States quipped during the May 28th segment.

Since then, nine advertisers -- Chipotle, Snapple, Sonic, Bank of America, Verizon Wireless, Carl's Jr., Nissan North America, AT&T and McDonald's -- announced through the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) that they were withdrawing support from KRXQ. A tenth advertiser, Wells Fargo Bank, issued a statement saying they were not advertisers of KRXQ's breakfast program and had no intention of advertising with the station in the future.

On June 3rd, Williams and States, along with co-host Dawn Rossi, addressed the May 28th segment following an outcry of opposition from listeners throughout the United States and as far away as the United Kingdom. Williams and States appeared to defend their right to an opinion on the show and clarified that they, in no way, advocated violence toward children.

"They never meant to advocate any form of abuse," station manager Jim Fox told The Sacramento Bee's 21Q blog.

Williams went on to say in his statement posted on June 7th that no new "Rob, Arnie & Dawn" shows will air on KRXQ until Thursday, June 11th, at which time the breakfast show presenters will "say what needs to be said."

"Apologizing in a written, posted statement is a form of cowardice," Williams wrote.

The Rob, Arnie and Dawn Show, which is owned and produced by Williams, airs weekday mornings on KRXQ 98.5 FM in Sacramento, known on-air as "98Rock," 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.

98Rocked: Ten Advertisers Withdraw Over Transgender Comments

2009-06-07T01:13:55Z

In the wake of controversial comments made by morning show presenters Rob Williams and Arnie States on KRXQ 98.5 FM, nine companies have responded by either discontinuing or agreeing not to renew advertisement support on Sacramento's rock station.

The nine companies -- Chipotle, Snapple, Sonic, Bank of America, Verizon Wireless, Carl's Jr., Nissan North America, AT&T and McDonald's -- all announced through the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) that they were withdrawing support from KRXQ, known on-air as "98Rock," which is the flagship station for the popular "Rob, Arnie & Dawn Show."

"McDonald's has a proud legacy of diversity and inclusion," read a statement prepared by McDonald's USA LLC. "The views expressed by (Williams and States) are not consistent with our core values. As such, we are in the process of withdrawing advertising from KRXQ until further notice."

Wells Fargo Bank, whose logo was removed from the KRXQ website shortly after May 28th, issued a statement saying it was not an advertiser of the May 28th broadcast and had not advertised on the station for more than a year.

The withdrawal of support comes nearly two weeks after Williams and States made controversial comments regarding transgender children, referring to them as "freaks," "fruits" and claimed that transgendered people suffered from "medical conditions" in which they felt the need to "bring attention to themselves."

"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 addressed, but did not apologize for, their comments in a follow-up segment on June 3rd. They also expressed disinterest in commenting to the media on the current controversy.

So far, the withdrawal of advertisement does not appear to affect station KDOT 104.5 FM in Reno, which syndicates the "Rob, Arnie & Dawn Show" along with KRXQ 98.5 FM in Sacramento.

Local Radio Show Takes Heat, Loses Advertisers Over Transgender Comments

2009-06-05T07:12:30Z

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.

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)