"... for airing a homeless man's crude comments that he'd like to have sex with Condoleezza Rice, Laura Bush and Queen Elizabeth. The remarks were made on their show Wednesday by a guest the duo call Homeless Charlie. As the name of each woman came up, the guest said he would like to have sex with her - using language not fit for print."Wait - they apologized for being in bad taste? Isn't that the whole point of Opie and Anthony? Why should they apologize? As I see it, it's not only their right to offend public figures crudely, but their duty! That's why people listen to their show in the first place.
The real reason for the apology is buried in Paragraph 10: "The remarks could become an issue as XM seeks approval from the Federal Communications Commission to merge with New York-based Sirius Satellite Radio, said Tom Taylor, editor of the trade magazine Inside Radio."
Friday, May 11, 2007
XM Satellite Radio shock jocks Opie and Anthony apologized Friday
Uncle Snoopy, you are one of the few commenting on this issue who has gotten it right!
ReplyDeleteO&A are shock jocks. Their humor more often than not IS in poor taste.
Just like Stern.
So we have companies hiring people to push the envelope, then apologizing, or worse, after they do what the were hired to do!
There are more than 170 channels on XM. Subscribers who don't like Opie and Anthony have ample other options and should exercise them.
Ironically, the fuss over Homeless Charlie's remarks have served to extend them to an even bigger audience. Should those who have published what he had to say be apologizing as well? Or is it only offensive in the first instance?
By way of disclosure, I'm the news and programming director at Paltalk.com. O&A have webcams and microphones in both their CBS and XM studios and both shows are webcast daily in a virtual auditorium on Paltalk.
More on this on my blog, www.garybaumgarten.com