| With trial, FM finds Jacko 'Dangerous'
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"There are people who think it's a sensitive issue," said Rick Martini, program director of WNEW-FM Mix 102.7. "We play a Jackson song pretty much every day. There is only one song we have taken out, called 'PYT (Pretty Young Thing).' Some people feel Michael Jackson has tarnished his image. But I have found those people to be a minority. "The bottom line is, if you like the music, you like the music." WKTU-FM program director Jeff Z. told us: "Right now, I haven't made any changes, and I'm not going to judge him until the trial is over... if he's found guilty. "When the songs are on, people sing to them, they don't associate it with what's going on. Do I cringe when he's on? If I think about it, yes. If I don't think about it, I can sing along." WBLS Program Director Vinny Brown said, "We play Michael Jackson throughout the day. We play a select number of his older songs. "Much of the audience - as it applies to him, R. Kelly or whoever else finds themselves in an unfortunate way - seems to separate what they do personally from what they like to hear. Even in the midst of highest controversy for an artist, people still call in and request." Scott Shannon, the WPLJ program director whose morning show with Todd Pettengill reaches 2 million listeners a week, told us: "We still feature some Jackson songs during our '80s feature shows, not in our regular rotation. "The controversy has affected his new music - it really doesn't affect his old hits as much. It's part of pop-music history. The music stands on its own." Loose talk for sale Meanwhile, Jackson could be haunted by some phone conversations in which he's said to reveal his private thoughts on sex. Back in 1985, Jackson befriended the family of a 9-year-old Utah boy, Phoenix-based agent David Hans Schmidt tells us. Schmidt is now brokering eight hours of phone conversations Jackson is said to have had with the boy and his family in 1990, shortly before Santa Barbara District Attorney Thomas Sneddon's first investigation of child-abuse charges against the singer. Having heard portions of the tapes, we can tell you that someone who sounds much like Jackson can be heard talking about his infatuation with Diana Ross, his anger toward his father, Joe Jackson, and his dream of having a funeral as grand as that of Elvis. He is also said to share his feelings about gay and straight sex. Schmidt says he's holding a press conference tomorrow in Phoenix, but is reserving the complete tapes - and specifics about the family - for the highest media bidder. It's unclear whether Jackson knew he was being recorded, but Schmidt says the singer's defense team has heard a portion of the tapes. Jackson's spokeswoman, Raymone Bain, had no immediate comment on the recordings. |
