Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, Thursday, June 10, 2004

KSUA-FM DISC JOCKEY SUSPENDED

By TOM MORAN, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner Staff Writer

Managers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks college radio station have suspended a disc jockey who turned a Sunday radio show into what he called a "celebration" of the death of former President Ronald Reagan.

A KSUA-FM disc jockey and UAF undergraduate who goes by the call name "Spider Bui" - neither he nor station staff would reveal his real name -- said his show was a reaction to the media's positive portrayal of Reagan in the wake of his death Saturday.

The show generated numerous complaints, according to KSUA program director Chip Brookes. Brookes said Spider Bui -- who was working as a fill-in DJ -- was supposed to play a pre-recorded show. Instead, he went with the Reagan content without running a disclaimer or getting anyone's permission.

"No one wants to censor anybody," Brookes said of the decision to suspend the DJ. "At the same time, we feel like this particular individual sort of abused a position of trust we put him in."

Brookes said the station is still receiving complaints about the show and questions whether the DJ crossed an ethical line in making so many "pointed comments" about Reagan so soon after the his death.

"Regardless of how you feel about (Reagan) or what he did ... we can all agree on a certain boundary of poor taste," Brookes said.

No tape of the show is available. According to Spider Bui, he spent much of his time slot berating Reagan for reasons like his support for violent revolution in Latin America, his involvement in providing aid and weapons to Iraq and to Afghanistan rebels, and what the DJ called a "homophobic" response to the AIDS epidemic.

"I said that I was sick of all of the media that was glorifying Reagan and rewriting history that was pretty despicable," he said. "Basically, what the gist of the show was, it was a celebration that Ronald Reagan was dead, was finally dead."

He said he played requests like "These Boots Were made For Walking" and "That's the Way I Like It" and told listeners he wanted to "walk over the newly laid dirt" on Reagan's grave. One listener said the disc jockey advocated urinating on Reagan's grave but Spider Bui said he doesn't specifically remember saying that.

In a Tuesday interview, Spider Bui noted that more than two-thirds of his callers supported his message. He said he stands by everything he said during the show.

"I have a responsibility as a person to make those statements, especially if I feel deeply about it," he said.

Brookes said complaints about the show have continued to trickle in all week. Spider Bui, who has had a show on KSUA for nearly two years, has been suspended from spinning records pending an investigation of the show. Further action could be taken. No one outside of KSUA is involved in the investigation at this point, station general manager H.B. Telling said.

"It's all internal. As far as I know there were no laws broken or anything," he said. "It's just a matter of response."

Spider Bui said he doesn't hold a grudge against his bosses for the suspension.

"The management of the station has a role and they're performing whatever they think is best for their role," he said.

Reporter Tom Moran can be reached at [email protected] or 907-459-7590.

Copyright © 2004 MediaNews Group, Inc. and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Inc.

can be arrived at.  The action of the DJ was inappropriate and I feel that he probaly should be removed.  I am sure that those on the right will agree whole heartedly with my last statement, but those on the left also should agree.  The reason why the left should agree is how would you feel if Clinton or Carter passed and some conservative DJ idiot made the same statement because he or she was not pleased by the policies of Clinton or Carter enacted during their presidencies.  I know I would be pissed if someone made such a remark about Carter, who I consider to be a person who has accomplished great things after leaving the presidency and in my mind, is one of the world's foremost humanitarians and diplomats.

Furthermore, now that he'll be getting divorced it'll only be a HALF Million $ mouth.

And as for Al Franken, yes he could use some help ... please buy his book, or an Air America Mug, LOL.

But to be honest of course the station is in trouble, it was a poorly managed venture, that didn't have the capital they were led to believe they had, and really only one personality with ANY previous Radio experience (Rhandi Rhodes) when they began. Air America has retooled and added new on-air personalities, but it's still up in the American Air if it will survive. Just because you can be successful in publishing or on TV doesn't mean you can carry that over to another venture. Keep in mind Rush has been in Radio a LONG time, he was a Radio DJ long before he turned into a political mouthpiece, and has had years to perfect his craft, so that's not exactly a Fair & Balanced comparison. (pun intended)


-- Modified on 6/12/2004 10:39:09 PM

Like I've said before, no one is buying that s**t they are shoveling...

I would look for them to limp along until after the election, the adios...

-- Modified on 6/13/2004 9:25:15 PM

From agrkej's link :
--------------------
"It may be close to broke, but Al Franken and liberal sounding board Air America Radio seem to be winning the ratings race against its more established, more conservative competition, particularly among the younger demographic that advertisers lust for ... the most recent Arbitron rating service numbers shows that in head-to-head competition in New York during the liberal radio network’s first month on the air, Air America’s "O’Franken Factor" beat Rush Limbaugh among 18-to-34 year olds as well as the 25-to-54 year old set."

"In the New York 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. match-up, the Air America affiliate, WLIB-1190 AM, edged out Limbaugh's local station, Disney-owned WABC, among both 25-to-54-year-olds and 18-to-34-year-olds. In the 25-to-54 demographic, WLIB garnered a 3.4 share to WABC's 3.1; among 18-to-34-year-olds, WLIB won sevenfold with a 2.9 share to WABC's 0.4."

"If this is how we're doing now, imagine what things will be like when we actually know what we're doing," Franken said.

If the numbers hold up in the final Arbitron tally, Air America could prove to be the most successful radio launching since the ratings system’s inception.
--------------------------

Nice find and post agrkej.

I notice they limited it to a specific demographic and did not address overall rating numbers. Also, it fails to take into account that his show is new and will naturally get a boost from that. The question is, can he maintain over a long period of time like Limbaugh has. If I am any indication, probably not. I listened via the internet for several weeks, but eventually found the programming was not really that good and dumped it.

Washingtondispatch?  You're killing me!  How many hours did you look for this "information"?  RLMAO

You have to register to read the story. so I included it below:



Franken factors in younger listeners
Air America radio network does well among group that advertisers covet

By John Cook
Tribune staff reporter
Published May 27, 2004

Despite ongoing financial woes, Air America Radio appears to have garnered a significant audience during its first month on the air, particularly among the younger listeners sought by advertisers.

An analysis of recently released figures from Arbitron, the radio ratings service, showed that in New York Air America beat Rush Limbaugh's station among 25-to-54-year-olds during the period that Limbaugh and Al Franken, the host of the flagship show "The O'Franken Factor," go head-to-head.

In Chicago, even though the network was available for only 28 days in April, Air America increased the average share of 25-to-54-year-old listeners on WNTD-950 AM from a 0.1 percent share in February to a 2 percent share in April.

Air America was pulled off WNTD-950 AM due to a billing dispute. The network is seeking a new home in Chicago.

"We're actually doing very well despite everything we've managed to do to ourselves," Franken said on Saturday in an address to the Talkers Magazine New Media Seminar in New York.

He was referring to the network's failure to meet payroll earlier this month and the departure of no fewer than six key executives in its first eight weeks on the air.

"If this is how we're doing now, imagine what things will be like when we actually know what we're doing," Franken said.

The April audience estimates, which are the first data indicating whether or not Air America's brand of liberal talk radio can find an audience, come from a third-party analysis of Arbitron data, called "extrapolations."

Insiders cautioned that, while it is standard to use extrapolations as a guide to the performance of a station, they are preliminary and prone to a certain margin of error.

"They're like a second-inning score in a baseball game," said Tom Taylor, the editor of Inside Radio, a trade publication. "But you have to say that the visitors are on the scoreboard."

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., a period that includes Franken's show, WNTD pulled in 3 percent of 25-to-54-year-old listeners in Chicago. That number puts the fledgling network in the same league as WGN-720 AM, which scored a 2.1 percent share of the same demographic, according to the extrapolation of April figures. WLS-890 AM, which airs Rush Limbaugh during the same period, beat WNTD with a 4.8 share.

But in New York, where Air America still broadcasts over WLIB-1190 AM, the network beat Limbaugh's station, Disney-owned WABC, among both 25-to-54-year-olds and 18-to-34-year-olds during the 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. period. In the 25-to-54 demographic, WLIB garnered a 3.4 share to WABC's 3.1; among 18-to-34-year-olds, WLIB won sevenfold with a 2.9 share to WABC's 0.4.
Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune

Advertisers would be flocking to Air America in droves to get on the 18 to 30 audience, and they could at the very fucking minimum pay their bills!

You might want to consider that since Limbaugh's debut in 1986, many other "conservative" radio talk shows have been added, to several networks.  I wonder how Limbaugh, O'Reilly & Prager numbers would add up against AA (appropriate abbrev.)?  All three of these shows air nationally in the same time slot with a shitload of other conservative talk hosts in every market!

AND none of them are having any financial difficulty.  I just cant wait for algore to fund the Liberal TV network so he can bleed off some of that Occidental Oil money that was gifted to his dad.  It will be fun to not watch.

Follow the money Pal, it doesn't lie and it isn't running to sponsor AA!  Soon you guys will have to go back to the publicly subsidized NPR for your liberal scat.  NPR has been decimated by AA, all 228 of their listeners have jumped ship.

Too F'n Funny Al Franken was on HardBall w/ Chris Matthews last night, and wouldn't you know it they discussed the recent ratings and the recent surge of advertisers that now want on board.

Be careful what you wish for{mock us with}, it just might happen.

Hey bribite, hear that . . . . yep that's the pendulum shifting back were it belongs.

I think old Al was doing a little salesmanship, you know that evil trait of those dirty Capitalist!

So by your estimation, AA will be back on the air in Chicago by when?