the latest bit of racist radio to come ot our attention, courtesy of
WFNY 92.3 Free FM in New York. On April 5th, "The Dog House with JV and
Elvis" midmorning show made a six-minute prank call to a Chinese
restaurant, in which a series of unsuspecting employees have to deal
with this caller's racist, sexist remarks, while the hosts laugh their
asses off in the background:
In the skit, a series of apparently unsuspecting employees of a
Chinese restaurant are berated by a caller who tells one woman he
would like to "come to your restaurant" to see her naked, especially
a part of her body he refers to as "hot, Asian, spicy." The caller
also attempts to order "flied lice," brags of his prowess in kung fu
and repeatedly curses at several employees.
You can listen audio file of the prank here
<http://www.angryasianman.com/other/923freefm2007-04-23.mp3> or here
<http://www.falloutcentral.com/news/2007/04/22/audio-clip-racist-broadcast-by-923-fm-an-insult-to-asian-americans/>.
It's pretty infuriating. The usual, tired-ass racist garbage passing for
"comedy" on the airwaves, and we're not taking it anymore. Juvenile and
idiotic to the infinite degree, this was a planned, thought-out sketch
done expressly to mock Asians and reduce us to the same inhuman
stereotypesâa joke to be laughed by all of New York. The segment was
replayed on "The Dog House" last week. This got the attention of the
Organization of Chinese Americans in New York, who sent out this press
release:
Liliana Chen
Principal
eLcie Media Services
T: 212-947-3434
E: lil@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
OCA EXPRESSES OUTRAGE OVER 92.3FREE FM RACIST AND SEXIST RADIO SEGMENT
April 22, 2007 - Today, the New York metropolitan area chapters of
the Organization of Chinese Americans - New York, New Jersey, Long
Island and Westchester/Hudson Valley Ãâ" expressed their outrage
over a recent segment aired on WFNY 92.3Free FM that involved a
prank call to a Chinese restaurant. In a letter to Thomas Chiusano,
the station's President and General Manager, OCA called for an
immediate apology by the hosts of the racist, vulgar and sexist
segment, JV & Elvis, their producer and the station. In addition,
OCA demanded for the immediate firing of JV and Elvis and their
show's producer.
In the segment, the caller begins by telling the first restaurant
employee, "I would like some Asian food, son of a bitch" as well as
to the second employee, "I would love to have lots of Asian food,
son of a bitch." The caller then tells a the restaurant's female
employee, "Should I come to your restaurant so I can see you naked?
" and continues, "That way, I can see your hot Asian spicy ass." As
the caller goes on, he tells yet another employee that he would like
some "flied lice," but not "some old dung" and indicates that "I am
training in Kung Fu, bitch" before ending with "Tell that hot Asian
girl answering the telephone, I'd like to tap her ass."
OCA-NY President, Vicki Shu Smolin, citing the letter, reiterates,
"What is especially disturbing to the Asian American community is
that the segment first aired on April 5 - just a day after Don Imus
referred to the Scarlet Knights, the Rutgers University women's
basketball team, as 'nappy-headed hos.' Even more infuriating is
that after CBS rightly fired Don Imus on April 12, JV & Elvis aired
the segment AGAIN on April 19. It is apparent that not only did JV &
Elvis not learn anything from the Don Imus scandal, but CBS and
CBSRadio decided that Asian Americans are easy prey for racist radio
broadcast."
Ms. Florence Chen, President, OCA- New Jersey adds, "New Jersey is
home to numerous technology, manufacturing and telecommunication
firms and home to nearly three-quarters of a million Asian Pacific
Americans. Until we are satisfied with the actions of 92.3FreeFM, we
will be calling on the strength of the Asian American market to urge
advertisers to pull their support."
Mr. John Tandana, Executive Vice President, OCA-Long Island
continues, "Once again, radio has tried to gain ratings to the
detriment of Asian Americans. The segment lasted over six minutes,
the entire time, casting Asian Americans and women in a demeaning
manner. Asian Americans have and will continue to contribute
immensely to this country's economy, intellect and culture. We will
not allow talk radio to spread stereotypes that hurt our community."
Ms. Jeannette Wang, President, OCA-Westchester/ Hudson Valley
affirms that "If the executives of CBS, CBSRadio and 92.3FreeFM do
not fire the DJs and their producer, they are sending a very strong
message to the Asian American community that they do not care. A
strong signal must be sent that this type of broadcasting is
unacceptable."
The OCA Chapters are urging its members and colleagues contact the
following individuals to demand the apology from and firing of JV &
Elvis and their producer:
Thomas Chiusano, President and General Manager, WFNY 92.3 Free FM
tchiusano@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
40 W 57th St, Fl 14
New York, NY 10019-4001
(212) 314-9231
Leslie Moonves, President & CEO
CBS
51 West 52nd Street
New York, NY
10019-6188
John Mainelli, Program Director, WFNY, 92.3 Free FM
john.mainelli@xxxxxxxxxxxx
WFNY-FM
40 W 57th St, Fl 14
New York, NY 10019-4001
(212) 314-9230
Karen Mateo, CBS Vice President of Communications
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
(212) 846-7638
karen.mateo@xxxxxxxxxxxx
According to this article, CBS Radio, which owns WFNY, has suspended the
two hosts: CBS Radio Show Hosts Suspended After Prank Call
<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/24/business/media/24radiocnd.html>. But
really, is that enough? Shouldn't CBS go all the way and fire the hosts
and producer responsible for this skit? Or will CBS management choose to
indeed embrace the double standard that made "The Doghouse" think they
could get away with this in the first placeâthat somehow Asian Americans
are easy targets for this kind of racist mockery. The fact of the matter
is, they thought they could get away with it. Well, they can't. And I
urge you to let them know this. Use the contact info above and demand
justice. I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it. If we sit on our
hands and stay quiet, it basically sends the message that radio stations
and other media can just go right on perpetuating stuff like it. And
they will. That's racist!
angrylink
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