Posted on 08/13/2003 12:13:23 PM PDT by bedolido
popular morning radio program that promotes the concept of free speech is under fire for allegedly rejecting a pro-God commercial.
Dan Schuller of Dubuque, Iowa, sought to purchase 10-second spots to be heard on "Mancow's Morning Madhouse," a Chicago-based program aired across the nation on what's billed as the "Free Speech Radio Network."
The 36-year-old engineer, who is Christian, corresponded with the station – WKQX/Q101-FM – in a series of e-mails and says he was told he could not purchase the airtime on the morning show due the controversial nature of the ad.
"Most people are beginning to realize that speech isn't free anymore, and that's fine with me 'cause I'm willing to pay to get my message out," Schuller told WorldNetDaily. "Unfortunately, I picked Mancow's Morning Madhouse as my medium of choice."
"The producers of the show decided that a 10-second ad for two area churches would be too controversial. This from the show that brings in strippers, lesbians, gays, Satanists, spirits of dead serial killers, sideshow freaks, and on and on and on," he said.
The spot he submitted to the station reads:
If you're listening to Mancow, you need God. Find Him at Willow Creek Church in Barrington or Faith Church in Dyer, Indiana. "This little ad that I was willing to pay for is too controversial?" laments Schuller. "So much for free speech, or in this case not-so-free speech."
Having purchased similar ads on Mancow Muller's show several years ago at another Chicago station, Schuller didn't foresee any obstacle with Q-101.
"I just figured they'd charge me more money," he said.
Schuller started corresponding with WKQX account manager Susan Kay in mid-July, initially receiving no hint of a problem, as Kay wrote Schuller in a series of follow-ups:
Can you send me a copy of the ad in an MP3 or just copy? We're really tight on :10s right now with it being summer – let me check on availability too.
I'm trying to get pricing and approval on the spot from my manager. He should get back to me by tomorrow if not today. On July 22, Schuller received a decline of his God spot from Kay:
Sorry for taking so long to get an answer – my general sales manager spoke to the Morning Show producer and they do not want to run the :10s during Mancow's Morning Madhouse because they have been subtly steering away from that sort of controversy. Thank you for your interest, and again, I apologize for taking so long to get an answer. Given the provocative nature of Mancow's radio show, Schuller couldn't believe the rejection, writing Kay back:
Are they serious?! They want to steer away from controversy on Mancow? Isn't that like an oxymoron or something? Do you have any recommendations to make it more palatable to the producer ... ? A follow-up response from Kay said:
If you wanted to run ads that had nothing to do with the morning show that might make a difference. When WorldNetDaily contacted Kay, she said the station sometimes rejects ads for content.
"It depends what it is," she said. "I just do what I'm told."
The station's general sales manager was unavailable for comment, but Kate Healey, a spokeswoman for Mancow's corporate parent, Indianapolis-based Emmis Communications, explained there was no official corporate guide on unacceptable material for advertisements.
"The [local] stations make the decisions on advertising at the station level," said Healey.
In the wake of WND's repeated attempts to contact WKQX officials this week – including Mancow himself and his executive producer – Kay sent an additional e-mail to Schuller on Friday, clarifying the station's position:
Again, you are welcome to advertise on the radio station. Perhaps "controversy" is the wrong word and certainly not one used by WKQX's sales management or by Mancow's Morning Madhouse in reference to your request. It was my word – and clearly I miscommunicated their response. The correct answer is – you may advertise on WKQX. Your :10 would need to be focused on your service and not on the morning show or their listeners. Emmis is the seventh-largest radio group in America, owning 27 stations in major markets like New York, Los Angeles, St. Louis and Phoenix, as well as overseas stations in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Budapest, Hungary.
Its website says Emmis has been voted the most respected radio company in a poll of industry CEOs, adding, "Employees at every level are encouraged to think out of the box, experiment and contribute."
The company has also posted the "Eleven Commandments of Emmis" to promote its philosophy.
Its first commandment states: "Take care of your audiences and your advertisers – think of them and you'll win."
Its fourth commandment says: "Never jeopardize your integrity – we win the right way or we don't win at all."
The websites for its Chicago station and one for Mancow provide a variety of colorful quotes from Mancow and some of his broadcast sidekicks, as well as images of scantily clad women in sexually suggestive poses.
(Excerpt) Read more at worldnetdaily.com. ...
Nope, wouldn't want people to think about God.... Too controversial. (rolls eyes.)
Your standard morning-show smut controversy, on the other hand, is just fine.... Of course, morning-show smut is no longer controversial, it's their bread and butter.
Looks to me like the only "controversy" is their fear that even a 10-second mention of God will eat into their ratings ad revenues. (They're probably right that it would.)
For crying out loud, this isn't censorship, it's a private company choosing not to run an ad that pokes fun at the show it is running on.
"Because one of the charges against Mel Gibson and The Passion is that reliance upon the Gospels is typical Christian hillbilly mentality - and yet this is the ... ... precise belief structure --- that created the vast majority of intellectual understanding of the modern world. Fidelity to truth, confidence that our truth is the shadowy outline of a loving Creator, and unprecedented genius which flowed directly from that confidence is the surest evidence serious Christians cannot be dismissed by serious critics as hayseeds or kooks."
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