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Clear Channel hosts suggest swerving autos into cyclists.
Posted with permission of the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates...
Bartow I've received a report that hosts Mark Williams and Jay Alan usually on KFBK, filling in for regulars Armstrong and Getty this morning on Sacramento radio station KSTE, made light of driving at cyclists with a motor vehicle. During a 6:34 A.M. news segment by Jamie Coffee on new video lane following features in Nissan and other vehicles, Williams asked (and this is not an exact quote), "How can I swerve at bicyclists?" When Coffee responded that using a turn signal would override the system, Williams said that wasn't any good because he didn't want to alert cyclists he was going to swerve. If you object to the notion that it funny to scare cyclists by threatening their lives, please contact KSTE at If you can corroborate this report, please contact me. Clear Channel stations have a history of bad behavior on this point. In 2003, a number of Clear Channel radio personalities made comments that suggested endangering or harming cyclists. In a settlement with the League of American Bicyclists, John Hogan, President and CEO of Clear Channel Radio, said, "the comments made by Clear Channel Radio stations in Cleveland, Houston, and Raleigh were inappropriate and intolerable . As CEO of Clear Channel Radio, I do not support or condone the anti-cyclists messages and have taken steps to insure they do not occur again." The comments were in a letter written following a November 5, 2003 meeting between LAB Executive Director Elisaa Margolin and Hogan at the company's headquarters in San Antonio, TX. President and CEO of Clear Channel is now Mark Mays who can be reached at Walt Seifert Executive Director Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates (SABA) (916) 444-6600 www.sacbike.org "SABA represents bicyclists. Our aim is more and safer trips by bike." ----- Original Message ----- From: Walt Seifert To: SABA Email list ; Bike Hikers list ; Sacramento Wheelmen ; Davis Bike Club Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2005 4:12 PM Subject: [bikehikers] Response from Clear Channel to League of American Bicyclists, Sacramento threats March 1, 2005 Patrick J. McCormick Communications Director League of American Bicyclists Dear Patrick: Thank you for reaching out to me concerning the radio incident in Sacramento. Below is a synopsis of the situation as well as our local market management's proposed resolution. On Thursday, February 24, two on-air personalities of KSTE Sacramento made inappropriate and insensitive remarks about bicyclists in the context of a news story. The personalities were Mark Williams, a visiting co-host from neighboring station KFBK, and Jamie Coffee, a regular news host on KSTE. As a result of the news cast, Regional Vice President/Market Manager Jeff Holden and Director of News and Talk Programming Ken Kohl addressed the situation with the talent. Both Mark and Jamie have expressed deep regret over the remarks made on-air. According to the commitment Clear Channel Radio has made to this issue, KSTE management has suspended Mark Williams and Jamie Coffee and station management will issue an apology. Both station management and the talent understand the importance of automobile and bicycle safety. In fact, Regional Vice President/Market Manager Jeff Holden is an avid cyclist and Jamie Coffee, also an active member of the cycling community, participated in the AIDS/Lifecyle 3, a 585-mile San Francisco to Los Angeles cycling event supporting HIV and AIDS services, and plans to make this grueling ride again this June. That said, KSTE will begin immediately airing PSAs to promote bicycle safety. In addition the station has offered to host bicycle safety seminars at the upcoming Family Expo/Yeah Baby event in Sacramento; provide programming to the League of American Bicyclists on KSTE; and post bicycle safety information from the California Department of Motor Vehicles on the KSTE web site at www.talk650kste.com. Our talent, Mark and Jamie have also expressed interest in participating, where appropriate, in these events. At your convenience, I would like host a conference call with you and Ken Kohl to work out the details of KSTE's participation. John Hogan and Clear Channel Radio value our relationship with the League of American Bicyclists. By quickly addressing this issue in Sacramento, I hope we have demonstrated to you the importance our company places on bicycle safety. Thank you for your concern and attention. I look forward to hearing from you. Best Regards, Omar Thompson VP, Marketing & Communications Clear Channel Radio --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Walt, That's great, however, I'd like to point out it's an identical response to one given in the early part of 2004. Unfortunately, the upper management at Clear Channel has not gone the extra mile to assure that things like this do not happen in the first place. I would advise to go along with their plan with regard to the PSA etc. But, it would also be beneficial to file a complaint directly with the FCC. Just my 2 cents, TB |
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