News of more than 150 thousand deaths is no laughing matter to most people. Apparently, that wasn't the case for the cast of a New York radio show — and now, the joke is on them.
DJ Tarsha Nicole Jones and her "Miss Jones in the Morning" cohorts are on indefinite suspension from hiphop station Hot 97. The action followed their broadcast — a week ago — of a song ridiculing victims of the Indian Ocean tsumani disaster. "Tsunami Song" mixed racist slurs against Asian people, jokes about those killed and orphaned, and the tune from "We Are the World," the 1985 song that raised funds and awareness for African-famine relief.
"What happened is morally and socially indefensible," Rick Cummings, president of WQHT-FM owner Emmis Radio, said in a statement. "All involved, myself included, are ashamed and deeply sorry."
So why did it take a week for Miss Jones and company to land in hot water with the station? It's all about the green: New York Newsday reports that protests by Asian advocacy groups and loud criticism from local politicians led to defections by a number of Hot 97's advertisers, including McDonald's Corp., tax-services firm Jackson Hewitt Inc., and phone giant Sprint.
Despite Miss Jones' on-air apology, her team's promise to donate a week's pay to tsunami-relief efforts, and the suspensions, WQHT is still feeling the heat. New York City Councilperson John Liu and others say Emmis' punishment doesn't go far enough. Liu's office will protest tomorrow morning to insist that Jones and the rest of the show's cast be fired. The demonstration will also call on the Federal Communications Commission to levy fines against Emmis Radio.
Firing the "Miss Jones in the Morning" team would be more than justified. Whining about free speech misses a simple truth here: The Jones gang is free to spout all the hatred and insensitivity they want — on their own radio station or in their own cesspool. As for Emmis execs, they deserve reproach. Shame on them for not going far enough in disciplining its errant employees and for not taking decisive action as soon as the reprehensible broadcast aired.
excerpted from all facts and opinions
Article comments
1 - Mario Rosales
Firing the morning show crew could indeed be justifiable by the company. It would be in their moral and financial interest to do so. But let us not get the FCC involved in levying fines for something that while some may find reprehensible, it is basically a sentiment that many do not agree with. The voice of the people have spoken through their dollars and listener-ship. We don't need the government to do decide for us what is morally right.
2 - Eric Olsen
thanks Nat, it should also be noted, as L. Cue reported here, that the listeners themselves have responded strongly in the negative with a petition, "dis Hot 97 mp3s, and the like