Newsday pulls ads from Hot 97 show

Just thought this was interesting...

Newsday pulls ads from Hot 97 show
BY RAFER GUZMÁN
STAFF WRITER


Bowing to pressure from an Asian community group, Newsday is pulling its advertising from the controversial morning show on hip-hop radio station Hot 97.

The decision was announced late Thursday after Asian Media Watchdog threatened to protest outside the paper's Manhattan offices. Hot 97 has drawn intense criticism for airing a racially offensive song that mocked tsunami victims.

"Newsday condemns the use of the song by Hot 97 that made light of the terrible tragedy in South Asia," the paper said in a statement, and added, "out of deep respect for everyone who was offended by this song we have decided not to air our commercials during Hot 97's morning show while station management works toward a satisfactory resolution."

In the weeks since morning host Miss Jones and her team first aired the song, a coalition of Asian advocacy groups and leaders has put increasing pressure on Hot 97 (WQHT/97.1 FM) and its parent company, Emmis Communications, by going after advertisers.

After Toyota, McDonald's and Sprint pulled their ads, two Hot 97 employees involved with the song were fired. Emmis said it would donate the pay of employees suspended for two weeks to tsunami relief efforts, and the company itself pledged an additional $1 million.

Meanwhile, the coalition is planning another protest -- its second -- at noon on Monday outside Hot 97's Manhattan offices. Protesters will demand that Emmis donate $10 million to tsunami relief efforts, says coalition member John Liu, the Flushing councilman. "$1 million is a token act of noncontrition," he says. "We demand that Emmis Communcations accept responsibility. They chose to profit from hate, and they need to pony up."

Making fun of a tragedy may be in amazingly bad taste, but I don't think it qualifies as hate.

I thought the decision to fire a couple of producers and sidekicks but not Miss Jones was bizarre, especially if you've heard the tape of the whole segment where she berates the Asian-American newsreader on the show for not participating in the song, and repeatedly talks about the song that "we" did.