Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Talker Eric Deters Fired by 700 WLW Cincy

700 WLW-AM weekend/fill-in talk host Eric Deters is no longer with the station, after posting a video blog on Facebook last week saying that “if you want to conquer an African nation, send white women and pot.” (see original posting and video here)

According to a story by John Kiesewetter at at cincinnati.com, Deters was told Tuesday he would no longer work for the station, and his WLW-AM blog was removed from the station’s website.

Deters was  a huge fan of talk host Bill Cunningham (he wrote the ”Willie” biography in 2009; both are lawyers) who was offered a talk show shift by The Big One after calling in reports to Cunningham’s show starting in 2007 about opposition to Kenton County’s plans to build a new jail.

He was the station’s 9 p.m.-midnight talk host throughout 2010. In January, he cut back to doing only weekends, and filling in sometimes for Cunningham, including last Wednesday and Thursday when Cunningham was in New York prepping for his fall daytime TV show.

Read More.

The full text of a statement by Deters’ statement follows:
“I will no longer be doing any weekend or back up hosting on 700 WLW radio. Backing up Willie has been a blast. I want to publicly thank Willie for being on the radio in the first place. It evolved with me being a caller reporting on the jail battle to being a host. I never planned it. I never expected it. It’s been wonderful experience. Not doing it anymore is not the end of the world either.

We use to take weekend trips. Doing a show on weekends prevented this pleasure. I used to write books. Radio consumed my writing time. I look forward to finally finishing my book about my brother Seth and the book about practicing law in the trenches. I also am free of the corporate bond. It’s not my style to be restricted in speaking out because of a corporate advertiser. I can now speak as I please.

My law practice keeps growing and I will always be a lawyer first. I love being a lawyer who fights for the “little guy.” I have and will have plenty of radio and television opportunities in the future. Radio has been a forum to express my views and tell stories. Who I am, what I am, all the hard work, education, study, living life, family, reading, writing, my cases and business all derives from nothing doing with radio. Not being on radio doesn’t change any of that. Radio has simply been a forum.

Finally, if you want to know why I won’t be on the radio anymore, I don’t know. LOL. I was not given a reason. I suppose we can all assume it was the video blog where I made a joke. The local NAACP even accepted my apology. The Enquirer headline used the word “firestorm.” I don’t know where the firestorm is?

I’m unaware of any groups or organizations making a big deal about it. Now that I’m liberated from the bonds, I can speak even more frankly. Sunday I sent out a newsletter outlining all my work in the real world on behalf of blacks and minorities. It’s hypocritical that the corporate “white” world would be upset with someone like me who can walk the walk and talk the talk for making a honest humorous observation about my young black friends. The joke may have gone too far, but give me a break.

Do you think Ickey Woods, who I have done all the legal work for his son’s foundation for free, gives a damn about my joke? Corporate white America does? I wonder how many in corporate white America have co-signed car loans for young black men who weren’t related to them? I have.

I wonder how many in corporate white America have given money to a young black man to help them out? I have. I have performed countless hours of free legal work for blacks and whites who could not afford it. My black flag football teammates were never billed.

I wonder how many in corporate white America can walk into any black neighborhood and cut up, laugh and keep it real? I have and can.

Corporate hypocrisy is as has as political hypocrisy.

What did Shakespeare say about first being true to yourself? I am and will be.

Everyone knows I love the scorpion and frog story. Corporate America is what it is. And, by the way, I’m a capitalist. I’m not anti-business. I’m anti-phoney corporate culture. And, give me small business, medium business, entrepreneur over big corporate America any day of the week. And, just like corporate America is what it is, the Bulldog is what I am. A rebel.”

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