Philly station WYSP fires DJ over racist song

The host of a rock radio morning show in Philadelphia has been fired for airing a song that referred to African-Americans in slang terms that station management determined to be highly offensive, according to a statement released by station owner CBS Radio.
WYSP's “Kidd Chris” was terminated, along with his program director, as a result of complaints about the song called “Schwoogies,” which aired on the morning show on March 21st originally, and several times after that.
“What we fail to realize, particularly African Americans in the media, is that the fight for civil rights did not end in the ’60s,” said Denise Clay a vice-co chair of the Media Watch Committee for The Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists. “It just began there and if you’re going to make sure that people understand, no this isn’t cool and that there are certain things we’re not going to tolerate.”
On March 21 Lady Gosh sang her own version to the 1980 Blondie song “Call Me” on WYSP-FM, which is a local affiliate of CBS radio. Chris and others in the studio were heard in the background loudly encouraging her to belt out the following words.
It aired again on the public traded company’s affiliate between noon and 5 p.m. The following is an approximation of those lyrics.
“Coloreds steal your wallets,” the words said. “And coloreds have pink feet. Coloreds are loud and obnoxious when they watch movies. Sticky fingers what they are. Always try to jack my car. Schwoogies. Or shines, you can call them anything you like. Schwoogies. Watch out, jigs will rob you day or night. Schwoogies. Mookie doesn't like to work. Just rolls blunts all day long. But there's one job he can do: Hold a lantern on my lawn. If someone else has your watch on, you can bet it’s a mulignon. Shwoogies all around. The sambos, monkeys, knuckle draggers, so much brown, mandinko, Mr. Bojangles. I have no problem singing about the negros.”
CBS Radio also owns KYW Newsradio.
WYSP-FM issued the following statement:
"We found the song to be highly offensive and completely inappropriate for broadcast on our airwaves. When senior management of the station learned that it had been played, they took immediate steps to prevent it from ever appearing on the station again.
"At the same time, we launched an extensive internal investigation into the situation including a thorough review of the editorial controls and systems we have in place to prevent this type of content from airing. We instituted additional educational training for the station, and have taken appropriate disciplinary action, including termination of the individuals involved."
There was no immediate word on what programming would replace the Kidd Chris morning show on WYSP.

Philly cameras catch cops beating suspects

"Fifteen Philadelphia police officers have been taken off the street as authorities investigate a video showing the suspects being kicked and beaten by city police," WTXF-TV, the Fox station in Philadelphia, reported on Wednesday.

"Doug Oliver, a spokesman for Mayor Michael Nutter, says the mayor stands behind the police department, but that 'at a glance it does appear to be beyond the pale.'

"'We are not going to prejudge the situation based on the video,' he said. 'We all saw the video, but none of us was there.'

"The beating happened two days after the fatal shooting of a Philadelphia policeman, the third city officer slain on duty in two years.

"Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey says he's disappointed in the actions of the police officers involved in a videotaped beating of three suspects.

"Appearing on 'Good Day Philadelphia,' Ramsey watched the tape again and said it speaks for itself.

"'When they first got him out of the car [it was being handled well]," said Ramsey. 'But once they're down . . . that level of force is only necessary to affect an arrest. I'm disappointed in what I'm looking at.'

"The commissioner says he spoke with his command staff immediately after seeing the tape on television. He encouraged them to give relief to officers who may be stressed out or tired.

"Only Fox 29 cameras caught a violent confrontation Monday night between police and three men who fled a shooting that has triggered a firestorm of controversy. The scene played out in the Hunting Park section of Philadelphia shortly after a triple shooting at the intersection of Second and Cayuga.

"On Tuesday, Fox 29 received a warrant for the videotape of the beating from the Internal Affairs division of the police department, and we complied with that request."

By Richard Prince's Journal-isms

Sound Off – Rate this year's primary coverage?

It’s coming down the wire…

With that said, was the local media fair and balanced in its coverage when it came to Sen. Barack Obama and or Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Pennsylvania Primary?

Or did it find itself getting caught up in the “gotcha” issues and not the important ones similar to last week’s debate with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos and Charlie Gibson?

How would you rate the election coverage this year? If you had the chance, what would you have changed?

Sound off…

Instructions to comment: Click on "comments" directly below then leave your statement in the comment box provided and press "publish comment."

Sound Off – ABC dropped the ball in Phila. debate?

Was ABC wrong in granting George Stephanopoulos and Charlie Gibson almost a full hour on “gotcha” issues in Wednesday night’s debate between Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton?

Was the tone in Wednesday night's debate anti-Obama?

Why weren’t critical issues such as the struggling economy, crime and the War in Iraq – topics affecting both Philadelphia and the country – avoided until the second hour?

And was it "bad ethics" for Stephanopoulos, who was a former Clinton employee, to ask questions for such an important debate?

Instructions to comment: Click on "comments" directly below then leave your statement in the comment box provided and press "publish comment."

300 of Color Lost Newspaper Jobs

An estimated 2,400 journalists left newsrooms in 2007 through a
combination of buyouts and layoffs, and nearly 300 of them were
journalists of color, the American Society of Newspaper Editors
reported on Sunday.

"Since 2001, newsrooms have lost an estimated 3,800 professionals, a
6.7 percent decline. But the largest loss came last year," the ASNE
said in reporting its annual diversity census.

"The percent of minority journalists working at daily newspapers grew
minimally to 13.52 percent from 13.43 percent of all journalists,
according to ASNE," a news release said as the society opened its
annual convention in Washington.

The figure had risen to 13.73 percent in 2006. The organization first
set a goal of reaching parity with the percentage of people of color
in the general population by 2000, then by 2025. In 2006, the general
population percentage was 34 percent, according to the census bureau.

In a conference call as ASNE prepared to release its figures, the
presidents of the associations of black, Hispanic, Asian American and
Native Americans, plus their umbrella Unity organization, unanimously
agreed that there is no way the industry will reach parity by 2025 at
the rate it is going, Mark Fitzgerald reported Sunday for Editor &
Publisher.

-Journal-isms

Sound Off - What do you think?

Sound off topic:

Do the media go over the top every time Hillary Clinton makes a
negative charge at Barack Obama? Could it be racial
bias or racial ignorance?

David Aldridge leaving Phila. Inquirer

Sports columnist David Aldridge, hit by layoffs at the Philadelphia Inquirer a year ago, then reinstated after protests that a disproportionate number of journalists of color were affected, is leaving the paper, he told colleagues last week on Thursday.
“I'm just tired,” Aldridge told Richard Prince’s Journal-isms. “I've been full-time with the Inquirer and Turner since the fall of '04 and it's been a grind,” referring to Turner Network Television. “I really enjoyed my time in Philly and I've come to really respect the fans there, who only want to win. I don't have anything else lined up other than continuing to work with TNT, which continues to be an excellent place to be.”
Aldridge becomes the third black columnist to leave the Inquirer sports department recently, following Stephen A. Smith, who was reassigned to be a reporter and instead left the paper, and Claire Smith, assistant sports editor and baseball columnist, who went to ESPN.
Sports editor Jim Cohen said in a memo, “David Aldridge will be leaving The Inquirer after next week. As many of you know, David has been juggling responsibilities for The Inquirer and a television network for a number of years, and that has become untenable for him. We will miss him for his reporting, maturity and professionalism. As someone who has worked with David in newspapers and television, I have always appreciated his dedication to doing journalism the right way, regardless of the medium and of the industry trends. At this time, David plans to devote his full attention to television. We wish David and his family well.”
Cohen told Journal-isms on Friday, “I feel very strongly that diversity is very important to our newspaper and our readers. I am committed to making us more diverse. I understand that actions speak louder than words, and I hope our actions in the future will speak positively for themselves.”
In January 2007, Aldridge was one of 71 members of the Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia in the Inquirer newsroom who were notified that they would be laid off. After further negotiations between the Guild and management, he was reinstated.

-By Richard Prince’s Journal-isms