US radio staff suspended over tsunami song

[emad]

Guardian

Stephen Brook
Thursday January 27, 2005

Days after Rodney Marsh was sacked by Sky Sports over a tsumani joke, the entire staff of a New York radio programme have been suspended indefinitely after thousands of listeners complained about a bad taste tsunami song.

The song was a parody based on the 1985 famine single, We are the World, and featured lyrics about a woman floating through the water with a tree in her head.

The seven-member morning team at WQHT-FM Hot 97 repeatedly played the song that also included references to "screaming chinks" and orphaned children "sold into child slavery".

"You can hear God laughing, 'Swim you bitches swim'," was one line in the song.

http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1399961,00.html

[AntiCoup2K4]

1. They don't mention who owns the station.

Fear Channel would be my first guess.

[Pab Sungenis]

2. Nope. Not Cheap Channel.

It's owned by Emmis.

Emmis Radio License Corporation
3500 West Olive Avenue
Suite 300
Burbank, CA 91505

Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?call=WQHT&is_unl=Y&is_lic=Y&is_cp=Y&sr=Y&s=C&sid=&x=0&y=0

[rfkrfk]

3. the lyrics leave something to be desired

The wrong song
There was a time, when the sun was shinning bright so I went down to the beach to catch me a tan.
Then the next thing I knew a wave 20 feet high came and washed your whole country away.
And all at once, you can hear the screaming chinks.
And no one was saved from the wave.
There were Africans drowning, little Chinamen swept away.
You can hear God laughing, ‘Swim you bitches swim.’


“So now you’re screwed. It’s the tsunami, you better run and kiss you’re a** away.
Go find your mommy.
I just saw her float by; a tree went through her head.
And now your children will be sold into child slavery.”

[Goddess Nephthis]

4. I actually heard the song played on the news...

It was a stupid move and their canning was well deserved.