Philadelphia Radio Skit Controversy
Update on Philly radio controversy from AAJA board member Pankaj Paul.
A call, made by radio jockeys Star and Buc Wild from radio station Power 99 in Philadelphia as part of their on-air routine, to a call centre in India continues to outrage listeners and the local community.
In the routine, Star had posed as a white father trying to buy beads so his 6-year-old daughter could look like tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams.
After learning his call had been answered by a call center in India, Star repeatedly called the female call centre employee a 'bitch' and ended the call by calling her "a filthy rat eater" and threatening to "come out there and choke the .... out of you."
According to articles in the Philadelphia Inquirer and on www.rediff.com, Power 99's community-affairs director Loraine Ballard Morrill said the station received more protest emails and phone calls than it had for any past incident. She also conceded the segment was "racially inflammatory" and said the audio clip of the segment had been removed the station Web site.
Also, the station told rediff.com Tuesday that it had suspended the duo for one day, January 12. Morrill also indicated to rediff.com that Clear Channel, the station's parent company, had pushed for the suspension.
The station also posted this apology on it's website:
"The Star & Buc Wild Show prides itself on walking on the edge. On December 15th, we crossed it. We know the pain racial slurs cause and apologize that this comedy segment went too far."
Clips and updates on the incident are available on the South Asian Journalists Association's web site.
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