I was away and missed the outcry over the Whitney Houston remarks made by KFI’s John and Ken .
It wasn’t until I got within the broadcast range of Los Angeles while driving south on lonely 395 last night that I heard the news. I quickly switched to 640 on the AM band and caught the last thirty minutes of Bill Mandel, who was subbing for the suspended jocks.
There was no mention of the incident by Mandel or the host in the next time slot, Tim Conway, Jr. Perhaps Mandel talked about it earlier, or Conway mentioned it later in his program, but I thought it was particularly strange that neither one mentioned it in their conversation during the transition between the shows before 7 PM. Neither host is bashful when it comes to discussing controversy. I can only assume KFI management muzzled them. If so, that’s a disservice to the listeners.
John and Ken have earned their reputation for irreverence. They go beyond politically incorrect many times.
That’s too bad because it takes away from their message about corruption and incompetence in state and local government.
In all fairness, some of their rants are no more provocative than Bill Maher’s, a classic example being the HBO host’s vulgar remarks concerning Tim Tebow’s public expression of his faith (by contrast, SNL’s Tebow skit was clever and did not cross the line).
There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking hard shots at officials, celebrities or other newsmakers. Their actions or words invite just that kind of passion. Wit, sarcasm and displays of outrage are powerful tools against those who feed off the public or allow their egos to get the better of them.
Making bombastic statements concerning personal tragedies are another matter. Houston, along with Michael Jackson, were primarily responsible for their own deaths even though either or both of them had enablers.
John and Ken would have been fine had they discussed the role drugs may have played in Houston’s death. Referring to her as a “crack ho” was despicable.
So what effect will all of this have on the duo’s future broadcasts?
At least one colleague of John and Ken does not accept their apology. It will be interesting to see if KTLA continues with its short simulcast with their show.
No doubt, it will create an uncomfortable atmosphere as they attempt to collect their thoughts before opening their mouths. Their credibility will suffer as the targets of the show’s criticism will point to the unconscionable remarks about Houston as an example of the pair’s character.
I will listen in on Monday to learn how or if they adapt, although a transition to a kinder and gentler style of political incorrectness will not occur overnight.
Paul Hatfield
Suzanne Lauer
I think the difference is that J&K’s comments were made about someone who had just died and hadn’t even been buried. That’s makes it different from anyone’s comments about Tim Tebow. The bigger problem is the lack of civil conversation on the electronic media and in public meetings. Remember when KABC had Michael Jackson discussing topical issues? Now it’s all about who can be more outrageous and loud. It’s difficult to listen to Warren Olney and then everyone else on the air and believe that Darwin was right.
Michael Jackson, now there was a great commentator. I don’t listen to ken and John because I don’t like bombastic and crude. Their comments were similar to those made by Don Imus several years ago. I doubt these guys have learned their lesson. They have done more than their share to coarsen the discourse in this country, I could care less if they were ever on radio again.
I agree with Greg, we are now being provoked, not entertained, not enlightened, and no one seems to take personal responsibility for the things being said. As a listener you have to turn off the radio to vote your conscious. We can afford mercy, kindness, empathy, ….really we can…it’s free.
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If J&K hadn’t have proven themselves to be so “revenue generating” for KFI, I think they would have been fired. On the flip side, their audience listens to them for the same irreverent criticisms that few will publicly undertake about our more relevant political issues. Biting sarcasm and blunt parody, have long been trademarks of public commentary, but even those are subject to the court of public opinion, of which is subject to ubiquitous outrage. Their insensitivity to the death of Ms. Houston, didn’t immediately raise the ire of their KFI management, until the court of public opinion was gauged and tabulated.
Will J&K be more sensitive and respectful? I doubt it. Will they chose their targets more carefully? One can only hope.
Wish I would have been away for that one. Yes, I heard it and it was disgusting and offensive to everyone. Those two have lost all credibility with me. Were you here last week when they preceeded to berate every teacher in the world and paint them all as criminals. It was the most disgusting display of idiocracy I have ever listened to. They have no respect for anyone or anything. That makes their opionion on anything null and void in my book. I will be rethinking my position on the illegal drivers license issue that Chief Beck is proposing. They have the freedom to say what they want. I have the freedom to contact their advertisers and tell them I will not be listening anymore to thier broadcasts and I would encourage others to do the same. They should be ashamed of their behavior. We, the listeners should exercise our legal rights and see to it they are taken off of the broadcast systems.
Hi Paul
I used to listen to John and Ken at one time, if nothing else in order to provide fodder for a column I wrote called On Media that appeared in another internet site. Sometimes they made a decent point or two, but it was always embedded in an overall anger towards all things traditionally liberal (John in particular). After a while, it became obvious that John is angry towards and jealous of anybody who finished a college education. Ken, the more educated and intellectual of the two, played along for entertainment’s sake. At some point, I simply burned out and grew utterly bored with their anger towards all things and people from south of the border. They beat on the illegal immigration drum until it was nothing but bare staves, and then continued to beat some more.
But the part that grew even more apparent and more appalling was the way they represented and used racism. It’s not just going a little over the top or being a little irresponsible to call names they way they did.
I suppose they still do all of this and more, as the recent outburst shows. I just can’t see how anybody could miss the racism, the envy of the more intelligent, and the need to put down whole classes of people who don’t fit their mold.
And yet there is a tiny morsel of truth in what Paul says — they might have been useful as a beacon of truth that lights up the dark crevices of Sacramento and L.A. City Hall. Unfortunately, they have about as little credibility with decent folks as it’s possible to have, due to a series of actions that make the Houston fiasco look minor.
One example: When the Rev Jackson and a few others were protesting outside the walls of San Quentin because a prisoner was about to be executed, John and Ken and KFI sent their reporter to get in Jackson’s face and demand of him that he name the murder victims. The argument is exactly the same — there is a logical argument to be made, but this is neither the time nor wording with which to do so.
One thing I will say for them: They are almost uniquely responsible for the passage of the Three Strikes law in California. They scared and intimidated the Democrats in the state legislature so severely that the leg passed all 5 (if I remember the correct number) of 3 Strikes bills and sent them all to the governor, just so that nobody could accuse them of voting against any 3 Strikes bill whatsoever!
You summed it up very well. Whatever light they were shining on the fiscal train wreck of our city and state has been dimmed, if not completely darkened, by their ranting – this last episode being the straw that broke the camel’s back.
It’s funny, I have been away for most of the last seven months. In that time, I almost completely stopped listening to talk radio and cable news from any source. Since returning, it has been difficult for me to get back into it. Maybe that’s a good thing.
I need to find programming that covers the local and state issues in depth without going over the top.
So Cal Connected is by far the best in my view, but we need more like it.
J&K, and the other on-air hosts, do what they do because it generates listeners/viewers, and advertising revenue for the corporation. The ones who tune in fuel them. I guess so many of us like train wrecks. Why else would reality shows, staring dysfunctional people, prosper as they do?
The 24-hour news cycle plays a role in this also. It used to be that news had an hour or so in the evening. They had to be selective. Now issues that would have been ignored are covered, and minor issues are expanded into big ones to fill space.
One good place to for information discussions is Warren Olney on NPR. I’ve never heard him raise his voice or insult anyone.
Talk radio has become as bad as reality TV. As much as I don’t like what some talk show hosts say, we need to be careful not to stop them from exercising their 1st amendment rights no matter how outrageous. I’ve noticed anyone in the limelight that makes a statement people don’t agree with all of a sudden all the groups come out to demand they apologize. Where is the line drawn on freedom of speech and censorship?
It isn’t a First Amendment issue because John and Ken weren’t speaking as individuals on the street corner. They spoke as employees on the job, and on regulated public airwaves. It’s a good guess that their employers has spoken to them in the past about what’s acceptable behavior and what isn’t.