Posted on 08/13/2005 12:51:02 PM PDT by leftcoaster
GRAND RAPIDS -- Cruel hoax or just plain cruel?
A local radio show host's announcement that he planned to drown a dog today -- purportedly to draw attention to this week's drownings of two children -- turned out to be a hoax, but still drew the ire of police and dog lovers.
Callers flooded 911 dispatch centers with complaints before the stunt was unveiled as a publicity put-on.
WKLQ-FM morning show hosts at 8 a.m. aired sound effects that were supposed to sound like a dog being drowned at a nearby park. Disc jockeys then admitted the effort was a ruse, saying it was intended to raise awareness of recent child drownings.
Police say the hoax was insensitive to families of the drowning victims.
"I realize they do their stunts for ratings, but this one has gone too far," Grand Rapids Lt. Vincent Reilly said, noting he believes it is inappropriate to compare a purposeful drowning of a dog to a loss of human life.
(Excerpt) Read more at mlive.com ...
As god is my witness i thought turkeys could fly
That is the greatest punchline in television history.
"Raising Awareness"--the modern-day battle cry of the scoundrel and idiot alike.
You can't imagine the outrage - the cops were liternally banging on the door of the radio room.
Well, if it's for awareness ...
Police say the hoax was insensitive to families of the drowning victims
What about the dogs that were listening in pure horror
Click the Pic J
What kind of imbecile would believe something like the radio station was promoting? Must be the same voters that voted for John Kerry....
C'mon - who could possibly think this was ever NOT a hoax, be serious - does anyone really think a radio show host would ever purposely drown a dog and announce he was doing so? Do people use their brains at all? It may have been in poor taste - but I am much more concerned that people are so stupid they actually took it as fact...
Ted Kennedy is strangly silent on this issue
The one Boortz did with the sky divers throwing cats out of the planes and then diving to catch them was a hoot!
Irate felinatics were calling in, threatening to burn the
station!
What about the dogs that were listening in pure horrorNO KIDDING!
(Shades of 'The Far Side' come to mind.)
LOL! The Nessman pic is intermittent (at best) on my computer.
I think there was a long thread here about it, someone bought into the story...
Yo know why they don't let the Blind skydive?
Scares the poop out of the dogs
I'm reminded of a "mourning mother" at the center of a media circus. Killing her dead son daily.
Now there's a drowning expert.
so was less nesman
Is this any worse than Rush's classic "Caller Abortion" ?
Sometimes you've got to get bizarre to cut through the clutter and get people's attention.
I don't know about the DJs in question but sometimes it ISN'T just about ratings and revenues.
There was a panicked vanity about this yesterday.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1461890/posts
...Did these dj's break the law? Why was law enforcment called? Seems that is was a waste of tax money for nothing???
"As god is my witness i thought turkeys could fly"
Only a capital-G God is worth anything as a witness....
And wild turkeys can fly, ask any hunter.
But go on with your story ;^)
Cheers.
With Sirius satellite radio none of this happens.
I wonder how much awareness would be raised if a litter was intentionally aborted...
"As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."
What are you my mother ?
Don't worry about the capitol G God has forgivin me.
Well I guess that Les Nessman got ones that were not that wild
It was WKRP not Cheers
DJs lied; no doggies died.
Give me Bailey Quarters anyday!
Actually they do allow people who are blind to skydive - they take their dog along and when the line goes slack, they pull the ripcord ....
Well at least you don't have to tell them not to look down
Al, it irreverent to use God's name as casually as that.
I'm Protestant -- the Jewish people have such reverence that they spell it G-d.
I'm forgiven too, for my own many shortcomings.
Cheers.
I think they wear darkened goggles (the dogs that is) ....
Bailey, no question.
All I have to say on the subject is "War of the Worlds" 1930s radio version. People fell hook line and sinker. Some people, too damn many, will believe anything they hear on radio or TV, and in some cases, the movies.
"War of the Worlds" was a play, and was not claimed to be anything different. Note that it was aired during a time when fear of foreign invaision of the East coast was a concern, which can partially explain the panic of some.
This particular radio stunt was played out seriously until the very end by the on-air voices. I did not hear the actual broadcast, but did see the TV coverage Thursday night about the public reaction and pressure on the station. The radio station did not make any announcements in response to the inquiries from the news media.
Also remember, when you start that "people are dumb enough to believe anything these days" argument that the same observation can be applied to those "personalities" that are hired by radio stations. I was skeptical that a puppy drowning would actually take place, but then, ya never know how dumb these radio DJs really are nowadays.
They are still being dishonest by claiming it was "for the kids" when it really was for their own publicity.
Only if you are a Christian. Some people are not and to them god is just another word. If you wish to practice your religion feel free to do so, but don't try to preach to others please. The man was merely repeating a well known phrase from the Cinninatti WKRP sitcom, it was extremely funny episode and of course wild turkeys can fly. If you find the lower case g on god abjectionable please feel free not to read any post that contains it.
They were NOT his own words. (They were a quote.)
Sorry for the oops.
The people in that area were more outraged at the "death" of an animal over the death of Human Beings - typical liberal idiocy.
That is not the case at all.
Two kids drown in successive days at different beaches. It is covered properly IMO by the local media.
Now comes a radio station that predicts on-air Wednesday or Thursday (not sure which day) that on Friday morning it will drown a dog live(dead?) on-air at 8:00 A.M.
The public outcry was in advance of the announced Friday drowning in order to stop it from happening. Do you really think there would have been less of an outcry if they had announced in advance that they were going to drown another kid? Of course not.
And on another front, some Conservatives show such reverence that they spell it "Pr-s-d-nt". Some people just can't distinguish a title or office from a name.
People are more sensitive about animals than people.
Last winter, someone posted a photo of two stray dogs that had fallen through the ice on some lake. By the time the rescue divers got there, one dog died from hypothermia and the other survived.
I suggested that outside of it being a good training exercise, the humane thing to do would be to use a sharpshooter at 70 yards.
Man did I get flamed. (I kind of expected it)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
