Radio Station "Idiot Alert"

jo-@aracnet.com

2003-07-14



John Schader wrote:

 

    Part 1.1Type: Plain Text (text/plain)



I seem to recall a similar 'statement' with a couple of goons in the

LA market doing the exact same thing. They said 'we were only kidding...

This is entertainment. Lighten up!'.



After much of the same response (by cyclists AND motorists (sic) alike),

the station was called to task by the Ca Highway Patrol and local

cycling advocacy groups. In some instances, sponsors were bicycle

friendly and promptly yanked their money.



Long story short, the DJs were fired (this was not the first time

they had pulled such a stunt) and the GM was demoted. Hell, for all

I know, it could be the same two dumbos pulling this crap in Cleveland.



Joe

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John Schader

2003-07-14



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Follow up to the "Idiot Alert" on http://www.truesport.com (I guess they're not all crazy in Cleveland...)



http://www.truesport.com/Bike/2003/news/idiotupdate.html



IDIOT ALERT - UPDATE

The following is an email from Lois Cowan - Co-owner, Century Cycles



Due to a flood of e-mails, phone calls and letters, Clear Channel Communications and WMJI-Majic 105 in Cleveland have agreed to help correct the wrongs that their broadcasts caused last week.



Negotiations are underway and Clear Channel has agreed to a number of items revolving around:



- Running Public Service Announcements on all six of their stations in the northern Ohio market.

- Donating a substantial amount of money toward local bicycling causes.

- Helping with programs and events such as Safe Routes to School and public safety education.

- Supporting and promoting the America Bikes agenda with national and local politicians.

- Public apologies from those DJs who offended all of us with their anti-bicycling comments.



AS OF TODAY, FRIDAY JULY 11th, WE CAN STOP E-MAILING COMPLAINTS ABOUT THEIR REPREHENSIBLE BROADCASTS.



Station management and the DJs understand that what they said was wrong. They are in the process of making things right, but for them to focus on turning things around we need to free up their computers.



Thank you for your quick response. It's great to see freedom of speech used in a positive way.



Please forward this to anyone that you may have sent the original Call to Action to so that the word gets out. If you are the administrator of a webpage or see the original Call to Action still posted on a webpage, please post this update as soon as possible.



Lois Cowan

Century Cycles

33351 Aurora Rd

Solon, Ohio 44139

440-519-0006



steve truesdale <cycl-@yahoo.com> wrote:

This is a form response to my e-mail to the head of

the radio station mentioned in "Idiot Alert"









--- "Popovich, Dave"

wrote:

 Subject: RE:

Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2003 16:14:00 -0600

From: "Popovich, Dave"



To: "steve truesdale"



Steve...



Thank you for your e-mail message regarding recent

Lanigan & Malone

broadcasts on WMJI.



The Lanigan & Malone show has a strong following of

listeners that enjoy

our tongue-in-cheek approach to humor. Recently,

some of our callers

and on-air personalities discussed cyclists and road

rules. During a

lively discussion, comments were made which we felt

were humorous in

nature, and we think most of our regular listeners

understood these

comments in context. However, in retrospect, let us

be perfectly clear.

We do not advocate any harm to cyclists. It was not

and is not our

intent to provoke violence towards cyclists. In fact

WMJI supports

cycling events through sponsorships and promotions.





Many responses we have received appear to be from

people who did not

hear the program and who received an inaccurate

account of what was said

and the context of the show. We choose not to rebut

any

misrepresentations. Instead, we simply extend our

apologies if you were

offended.



Again, we truly regret offending anyone who

misunderstood our satirical

exchange with callers. Our intent is to offer a

public forum for the

cares and concerns of our listeners and to entertain

through humor.

Please feel free to write or phone me in the event I

can be of service.



Best regards,



Dave Popovich

Program Director

WMJI/Majic 105.7

216-520-2600



-----Original Message-----

From: steve truesdale [mailto:cycl-@yahoo.com]

Sent: Friday, July 11, 2003 6:11 PM

To: Popovich, Dave

Subject:



Dear Sir;



If it is indeed true that your station aired a

program instructing people to deliberately injur

cyclist or any other segment of the population, it

will only be a matter of time before some idot

actually commits the crimes that you suggest. When

that does happen, you will be liable. That action

falls into the category of conspiracy to commit a

felony, inciting hate crimes and racketeering.

Aside from all of that, what message are you

sending? I hope you never ask what is wrong with

people because it is you if you condone this sort of

"entertainment". This country and this world deserve

better, make a difference, do something for the good

not the ratings. The ratings will follow.



=====

Steve Truesdale

Digital DJ Service

503-232-1704 (phone)

503-232-1708 (fax)

http://www.digitaldjservice.com





=====

Steve Truesdale

Digital DJ Service

503-232-1704 (phone)

503-232-1708 (fax)

http://www.digitaldjservice.com



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<DIV>Follow up to the "Idiot Alert" on <A href="http://www.truesport.com">http://www.truesport.com</A> (I guess they're not all crazy in Cleveland...)<BR></DIV>

<DIV><A href="http://www.truesport.com/Bike/2003/news/idiotupdate.html">http://www.truesport.com/Bike/2003/news/idiotupdate.html</A></DIV>

<DIV> </DIV>

<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Verdana>IDIOT ALERT - UPDATE</FONT></STRONG>

<P><FONT size=2><FONT face=Verdana><I>The following is an email from Lois Cowan - Co-owner, Century Cycles</I><BR><BR>Due to a flood of e-mails, phone calls and letters, Clear Channel Communications and WMJI-Majic 105 in Cleveland have agreed to help correct the wrongs that their broadcasts caused last week.</FONT></FONT></P>

<P><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Negotiations are underway and Clear Channel has agreed to a number of items revolving around:</FONT></P>

<BLOCKQUOTE>

<P><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>- Running Public Service Announcements on all six of their stations in the northern Ohio market.<BR></FONT><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>- Donating a substantial amount of money toward local bicycling causes.<BR></FONT><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>- Helping with programs and events such as Safe Routes to School and public safety education.<BR></FONT><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>- Supporting and promoting the America Bikes agenda with national and local politicians.<BR></FONT><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>- Public apologies from those DJs who offended all of us with their anti-bicycling comments.</FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE>

<P><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2><B>AS OF TODAY, FRIDAY JULY 11th, WE CAN STOP E-MAILING COMPLAINTS ABOUT THEIR REPREHENSIBLE BROADCASTS. </B></FONT></P>

<P><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Station management and the DJs understand that what they said was wrong. They are in the process of making things right, but for them to focus on turning things around we need to free up their computers. </FONT></P>

<P><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Thank you for your quick response. It's great to see freedom of speech used in a positive way. </FONT></P>

<P><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Please forward this to anyone that you may have sent the original Call to Action to so that the word gets out. If you are the administrator of a webpage or see the original Call to Action still posted on a webpage, please post this update as soon as possible. </FONT></P>

<P><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Lois Cowan<BR>Century Cycles<BR>33351 Aurora Rd<BR>Solon, Ohio 44139<BR>440-519-0006</FONT></P><BR><B><I>steve truesdale <cycl-@yahoo.com></I></B> wrote:</DIV>

<DIV>

<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid; WIDTH: 100%">This is a form response to my e-mail to the head of<BR>the radio station mentioned in "Idiot Alert" <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>--- "Popovich, Dave" <DAVEPO-@CLEARCHANNEL.COM><BR>wrote:<BR>> Subject: RE: <BR>> Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2003 16:14:00 -0600<BR>> From: "Popovich, Dave"<BR>> <DAVEPO-@CLEARCHANNEL.COM><BR>> To: "steve truesdale" <CYCL-@YAHOO.COM><BR>> <BR>> Steve...<BR>> <BR>> Thank you for your e-mail message regarding recent<BR>> Lanigan & Malone<BR>> broadcasts on WMJI.<BR>> <BR>> The Lanigan & Malone show has a strong following of<BR>> listeners that enjoy<BR>> our tongue-in-cheek approach to humor. Recently,<BR>> some of our callers<BR>> and on-air personalities discussed cyclists and road<BR>> rules. During a<BR>> lively discussion, comments were made which we felt<BR>> were humorous in<BR>> nature,

and we think most of our regular listeners<BR>> understood these<BR>> comments in context. However, in retrospect, let us<BR>> be perfectly clear.<BR>> We do not advocate any harm to cyclists. It was not<BR>> and is not our<BR>> intent to provoke violence towards cyclists. In fact<BR>> WMJI supports<BR>> cycling events through sponsorships and promotions. <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> Many responses we have received appear to be from<BR>> people who did not<BR>> hear the program and who received an inaccurate<BR>> account of what was said<BR>> and the context of the show. We choose not to rebut<BR>> any<BR>> misrepresentations. Instead, we simply extend our<BR>> apologies if you were<BR>> offended. <BR>> <BR>> Again, we truly regret offending anyone who<BR>> misunderstood our satirical<BR>> exchange with callers. Our intent is to offer a<BR>> public forum for the<BR>> cares and concerns of our listeners and to

entertain<BR>> through humor.<BR>> Please feel free to write or phone me in the event I<BR>> can be of service.<BR>> <BR>> Best regards,<BR>> <BR>> Dave Popovich<BR>> Program Director<BR>> WMJI/Majic 105.7<BR>> 216-520-2600<BR>> <BR>> -----Original Message-----<BR>> From: steve truesdale [mailto:cycl-@yahoo.com] <BR>> Sent: Friday, July 11, 2003 6:11 PM<BR>> To: Popovich, Dave<BR>> Subject: <BR>> <BR>> Dear Sir; <BR>> <BR>> If it is indeed true that your station aired a<BR>> program instructing people to deliberately injur<BR>> cyclist or any other segment of the population, it<BR>> will only be a matter of time before some idot<BR>> actually commits the crimes that you suggest. When<BR>> that does happen, you will be liable. That action<BR>> falls into the category of conspiracy to commit a<BR>> felony, inciting hate crimes and racketeering. <BR>> Aside from all of that, what message are

--0-78604312-1058212141=:74741--



steve truesdale

2003-07-11



This is a form response to my e-mail to the head of

the radio station mentioned in "Idiot Alert"









--- "Popovich, Dave" <DavePo-@Clearchannel.com>

wrote:

 Subject: RE:

Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2003 16:14:00 -0600

From: "Popovich, Dave"

<DavePo-@Clearchannel.com>

To: "steve truesdale" <cycl-@yahoo.com>



Steve...



Thank you for your e-mail message regarding recent

Lanigan & Malone

broadcasts on WMJI.



The Lanigan & Malone show has a strong following of

listeners that enjoy

our tongue-in-cheek approach to humor. Recently,

some of our callers

and on-air personalities discussed cyclists and road

rules. During a

lively discussion, comments were made which we felt

were humorous in

nature, and we think most of our regular listeners

understood these

comments in context. However, in retrospect, let us

be perfectly clear.

We do not advocate any harm to cyclists. It was not

and is not our

intent to provoke violence towards cyclists. In fact

WMJI supports

cycling events through sponsorships and promotions.





Many responses we have received appear to be from

people who did not

hear the program and who received an inaccurate

account of what was said

and the context of the show. We choose not to rebut

any

misrepresentations. Instead, we simply extend our

apologies if you were

offended.



Again, we truly regret offending anyone who

misunderstood our satirical

exchange with callers. Our intent is to offer a

public forum for the

cares and concerns of our listeners and to entertain

through humor.

Please feel free to write or phone me in the event I

can be of service.



Best regards,



Dave Popovich

Program Director

WMJI/Majic 105.7

216-520-2600



-----Original Message-----

From: steve truesdale [mailto:cycl-@yahoo.com]

Sent: Friday, July 11, 2003 6:11 PM

To: Popovich, Dave

Subject:



Dear Sir;



    If it is indeed true that your station aired a

program instructing people to deliberately injur

cyclist or any other segment of the population, it

will only be a matter of time before some idot

actually commits the crimes that you suggest. When

that does happen, you will be liable. That action

falls into the category of conspiracy to commit a

felony, inciting hate crimes and racketeering.

    Aside from all of that, what message are you

sending? I hope you never ask what is wrong with

people because it is you if you condone this sort of

"entertainment". This country and this world deserve

better, make a difference, do something for the good

not the ratings. The ratings will follow.



=====

Steve Truesdale

Digital DJ Service

503-232-1704 (phone)

503-232-1708 (fax)

http://www.digitaldjservice.com





=====

Steve Truesdale

Digital DJ Service

503-232-1704 (phone)

503-232-1708 (fax)

http://www.digitaldjservice.com