 |
Regular radioinfo contributor Ian MacRae posts snippets of radio news that are too short and succinct to feature in our regular pages...plus industry rumour, gossip, scandal...and photos and sound bites of interest. Macca encourages you to submit anything you think fits and is keen to receive any feedback on stuff you see here. You can contact him at ian@allaboutradio.net |
Jackie O gets pranked
Jackie O loves pranks but the tables were turned during the 2Day Kyle & Jackie O show post-meeting.
Everyone on the 2Day production team was aware of the fake explosions and cockroaches (also fake) about to come - except one person. And she has a cockroach-phobia.
Catholic radio broadcaster killed in Philippines
The Roman Catholic Church and a media watchdog, the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists, have called for justice after an anchorman of a Catholic-run radio station was killed by motorcycle-riding gunmen in the southern Philippines.
Colleagues said they were puzzled by the killing of Radio DXHM broadcaster Nestor Sapidan Libaton along a remote section of a highway in Mati city. Unlike many other journalists who came under attack after exposing corruption or drug trade, he wasn’t handling sensitive topics or calling attention to officials.
Newswriter and fellow anchor Leonila Duallo said: “He was not even a hard-hitting commentator.”
Duallo said their three radio shows dealt with routine regional and local government affairs. The programs were government-sponsored. Duallo and Libaton co-anchored with another colleague, Eldon Cruz, who was driving the motorcycle on which Libaton was riding.
Libaton and Cruz were heading back to Mati after covering an agricultural fair in another town when they heard gunfire from three men on another motorcycle behind them. Cruz maneuvered to evade the gunmen but for unknown reasons Libaton got off and was shot six times.
He died on the spot but Cruz was unharmed.
Police said they were investigating.
Outrage over Jewish slur on Sydney radio
Sydney radio station Mix 106.5 has acknowledged that a statement made by a caller equating being cheap with being Jewish was offensive but has stopped short of releasing a formal apology or statement.
During the Rosso and Claire program, a caller known as “Connie” told hosts Tim Ross and Claire Hooper that she had fallen out with her sister over being owed one cent.
When asked by Hooper if she thought her sister was “massively stingy”, Connie’s response was: “She’s massively – she’s very much a Jew, very Jewish.”
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies CEO Vic Alhadeff says he has spoken to the station. “Our concerns were first, that a racist comment was allowed to be put to air, given that most radio programs have a delay system for up to as much as seven seconds, and second, the inappropriate manner with which the talkback hosts responded.
“Once the comment went to air, they should have immediately ruled it out of line and offensive. Those were the concerns that I conveyed to the producer [of the Rosso and Claire program]. He acknowledged the point and apologised.”
Police beat reporters during Vietnam land eviction
Police and security guards beat two Vietnamese state radio reporters who were watching them evict farmers from their land to make way for a massive privately built housing project.
The men were Nguyen Ngoc Nam, chief of political and economic news at the Radio Voice of Vietnam, and staff reporter Han Phi Long.
Nam was handcuffed and taken to a district prosecutor's office while Long went to local police to report the beating.
The two reporters and the national radio station have asked the provincial government for an explanation but it has yet to respond.
In the April 24 eviction in Hung Yen province near Hanoi, about 3,000 police and militiamen, many in full riot gear, overpowered more than 1,000 villagers.
A total of 166 families were evicted from 14 acres of land, part of 180 acres allocated for the second phase of the housing project.
Land rights cases have attracted increased attention in recent years as farmers have been pushed off their land to make way for projects ranging from industrial parks to luxury golf courses.
Presenter apologises for 'screw your daughter straight' remark
A member of rock WMMS, Cleveland’s wakeup show “Rovers’ Morning Glory”, Dominic Dieter issued an apology for after telling the father with a lesbian daughter he should "get one of your friends to screw your daughter straight."
A transcript of the apology quotes Dieter as saying: “I regret what I did say. My comments were inappropriate. They were inexcusable, and just downright stupid. And I want to make it clear; there was absolutely no intention to promote physical or sexual violence. And I’m truly, truly sorry by my poor choice of words that led people to believe otherwise."
Clear Channel Cleveland Operations Manager Keith Abrams stated: " We take matters of this nature very seriously; his comment was thoughtless and unacceptable, and we apologise to those who were offended. We can assure you the appropriate disciplinary action has been taken, and Dieter has since apologised on-air and is fully aware that what he said was unacceptable.
"We also want you to be aware that during Fridays broadcast, he was in fact immediately criticized on-air by the other hosts of the show, and the rest of the segment was dedicated to a productive discussion about the acceptance of all lifestyles. It included call-ins and commentary from members and friends of the gay community. WMMS supports the gay community and again, we deeply apologise."
Somber World Press Day in Somalia after fifth death
Dozens of Somali journalists met in somber silence to celebrate World Press Freedom Day, a meeting that came only hours after the killing of the fifth Somali journalist this year.
Two armed men shadowed Somali radio journalist Farhan Abdulle after he left his station then shot him dead.
His death is the latest in a string of what appear to be targeted killings of reporters in Somalia, where journalists must watch their backs for attacks from militants and criminals and fight through judicial inaction and even outright hostility from the government.
Journalist Abdullahi Ahmed recalled staring at his phone in fear recently when an unregistered number kept calling him. Many Somali journalists reported similar problems.
Said Ahmed, a TV reporter: "They call you and threaten you. You have to sometimes abandon answering unknown calls. A call you think is from an ordinary caller can turn out to be a threatening call. It's a stressful situation."
Amnesty International noted that the Somali government has failed to bring anyone to justice for the killings of at least 28 journalists since 2007.
Loud radio a real eye opener
In Vallejo, California, a roommate squabble has left a man with only one good eye after a dispute over a loud radio turned violent.
Police arrested Tyrone Shelton at San Francisco General Hospital's psychiatric ward on his 36th birthday on suspicion of felony aggravated mayhem after he allegedly removed the eyeball of his roommate, a 61-year-old man.
The two men lived at a skilled nursing facility in Vallejo when the fight began.
Vallejo police Sgt. Kevin Coelho said tempers flared after one of the two men had his radio on too loud for the other.
Police said the victim suffered from severe swelling around his eyes, so it took some time for officials to notice he was missing an eye.
Hope they finished up seeing eye to eye.
Indonesian radio bans Justin Bieber's songs over 'insult'
A local teenage radio station in Medan, North Sumatra, Kiss 105 FM, has banned Justin Bieber's songs as a protest against the teenage pop sensation's remarks on Indonesia that sparked strong reactions from his fans - known as Beliebers - in the country.
The British tabloid, the Daily Mirror, reported that Bieber recently "mocked the English accent, insulted Indonesia and threw a hissy fit," when in London to premiere his new album, “Believe”.
During the event, Bieber told an interviewer about the creative process for one of his new tracks, saying it was recorded in some "random country". His manager, Scott "Scooter" Braun, interrupted and informed him it was produced in Indonesia.
Kiss FM executive producer Anggi Simanjuntak commented: "His tone was very condescending and he is just a 19-year-old boy. This is a country with more than 200 million citizens."
Anggi said that the policy was apparently supported by heartbroken radio listeners. "Some of them unfollowed or even blocked Bieber's twitter account from their timelines."
Anggi said that the radio had yet to decide how long it would impose the ban.
Radio station fails in effort to silence ex-hosts
In what could be a landmark case, a judge has denied an injunction request by Contemporary Hits WDJQ-FM, (a station in Alliance, Ohio ) which sought to silence two former hosts who launched their own online radio station.
The hosts started the online station after leaving WDJQ earlier this year. WDJQ had said their actions violated a noncompetition clause.
Patrick DeLuca and Charlotte DiFranco hosted the top-rated “DeLuca In The Morning” show for six years at the station but vacated their morning time slot in February after unsuccessful contract negotiations.
DeLuca and DiFranco, however, started their own radio station, available online at www.theradiosucks.com , broadcasting three live shows weekly during the past two months.
WDJQ sued the duo, claiming a one-year noncompetition provision survived the expiration of their contracts and prevented DeLuca and DiFranco from streaming any show on the Internet.
Representing the hosts, Atty. Steve Okey, however, argued the noncompetition language prohibited DeLuca and DiFranco only from running a business that was “the same or essentially the same as a commercial radio station.”
Okey said there is a possibility the station could file an appeal of the judge’s ruling.
Internet radio legal in Swaziland
The Swaziland Government's spokesperson has admitted that it is powerless to stop people in the kingdom setting up their own internet radio stations.
Swaziland, ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarch, has strict controls over the media. Nearly all broadcasting is state-controlled with news and speech programmes heavily censored. The one independent TV station and one independent radio station in Swaziland self-censor so that no criticism of King Mswati and his supporters are allowed on the airwaves.
Swazi Governments have for many years refused to allow new radio stations - especially community stations - to operate so it can control what Swazi people are allowed to hear and say on air.
But a new station called Radio Sikuphe has challenged this. It broadcasts on the internet and also on a low-powered transmitter inside Swaziland.
Earlier this month, Government Spokesperson Percy Simelane said Radio Sikuphe was broadcasting illegally on land and on the Internet, but now he has been forced to backtrack.
In a statement to local newspapers Simelane said it was not illegal to broadcast over the Internet. 'If they are using internet and nowhere at any point do they use the country's frequency then they are off the hook”.
He added it would still be illegal for Radio Sikhuphe to broadcast over the air in Swaziland, even if it was only doing so for short distances.
Radio station buys seahorse Cheeto
A Florida radio station has revealed itself as the buyer of a $100 seahorse-shaped Cheeto, (a puffed corn chip) on eBay.
WKYZ-FM, Key West, which calls itself Pirate Radio, revealed itself as the buyer of the unusually-shaped snack posted to eBay by Virginia resident Richard Schmidt.
Said Schmidt, who sold the Cheeto to benefit environmental group Reef Relief: "It wasn't the thousands my wife and I had hoped for but it certainly set a world record as the most expensive Cheeto in history. I think it is simply spectacular that a start-up radio station like Pirate Radio stepped up to the plate when money is tight and placed the winning bid."
Radio DJ in trouble for sex joke
A radio host who joked about having sex with his unconscious fiancée "Uncle Bully" style has been taken off air.
New Zealand dance music station George FM DJ Thane Kirby, told listeners that his partner, model Sophia Nash, had recently come home from a hens night in an amorous mood.
He initially spurned her advance but later, after she fell asleep, he had felt a "tingling" downstairs and had sex with her.
Kirby laughed that the intercourse was "Uncle Bully", a reference to the despised character from the film Once Were Warriors.
However, George FM bosses failed to see the funny side and suspended Kirby from presenting duties.
A statement from parent company MediaWorks said: "A comment was made last week by a George FM announcer which was intended as humour. George FM wants to make it clear that the comment was unacceptable and has taken immediate disciplinary action. There will be no further comment on what is now an employment matter."
Kirby, who co-founded the station in the late 1990s, is due to marry Nash next month.