one final comment

[dslrpierce@peoplepc.com]

Donna,

First, my condolences on the death of your father-in-law.

Second,  as a Program Director for more than ten years, and a talk show host 
and producer for even longer, I never had a meeting with anyone in the 
corporate chain about the issue of what can or cannot be said on the air. 
During my time with Clear Channel, after several highly publicized problems, 
the company issued a set of standards (just tightening up standards that 
were already in existence).  Prior to that I simply had to go on my 
professional experience, which centered around my ability to understand my 
community's standards and the image of my radio station.  As a News/Talk PD, 
I always thought that I should have a stricter standard than, say, my 
counterparts at the AOR station.  Clearly, what were once pretty bright 
lines when I got into the business in 1981 have faded considerably over 
time.  Were the 'caller abortions' that Rush was doing early in his career 
in good taste?  Probably not, but most managers hung on and took the heat 
and were rewarded when his show achieved ratings and revenue success.

That is just one example of a talk host who may have crossed the line but 
got away with it.  Still, while a bit like that might offend some people, it 
does not necessarily offend a particular interest group that might be 
capable of causing real financial problems for a radio station.  This, I 
think, is the key.  Comments directed at a politically or economically 
powerful interest group in your community, or comments that offend a wide 
cross-section of your audience, are cause for alarm.  It does not 
necessarily mean that you dump the host.  If you think the host is a 
potential ratings winner, you're generally going to stick with him/her, 
unless the comments rise to the level of a headache you no longer want to 
endure.  I think this was, in part, the case with John DePetro.  There were 
almost certainly some things happening behind the scenes that we have not 
heard about that pushed him close to the edge.  He merely gave them an 
excuse to push him off.

The bottom line?  Like obscenity, objectionable speech that can lead to 
termination probably cannot be defined, but when my behind is in the PD or 
GM's chair, I'll know it when I hear it.

Dan Pierce
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Donna Halper" <dlh@donnahalper.com>
To: <boston-radio-interest@rolinin.BostonRadio.org>
Sent: Monday, November 06, 2006 1:34 PM
Subject: one final comment


> If this conversation about what is and is not permissible on the air can 
> resume, I'm very interested in knowing from PDs and announcers on the list 
> what if any guidance they have been given about what they can say and what 
> they can't say.
>
> I'm not gonna participate much today-- my husband's dad just died early 
> this morning, after a long battle with cancer.  If any of you nice folks 
> wanna make a donation in his memory to the American Cancer Society, his 
> name was Frank Jacobik.  (My husband is Jon Jacobik, and some of you have 
> met him...)  I'll be back tomorrow, and thanks.
>