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| Val St. John, Scott Fish |
Earlier Posting...
Two personalities have been taken off the air following a fake water advisory apparently meant as an April Fool's joke.
During their Monday morning show on WWGR Gator Country 101.9-FM,
Val St. John and Scott Fish used a decades-old hoax, announcing that
"dihydrogen monoxide" was coming out of Lee County
Tony Renda, general manager at the Bonita Springs country
music station, told the Fort Myers News-Press he immediately pulled Val St.
John and Scott Fish off the air when he heard about the April Fool’s joke they
had been playing on their 5 to 9 a.m. morning show and then started having the
joke recanted and an apology aired during station breaks. “Every break we have
we’re telling listeners it was a goof, a bad joke,” he said.
Renda said the pair have been doing their show for years and
usually do a very family friendly April Fool’s joke. “Every year they do a
joke,” he said. ”But it’s been a fun joke.”
Renda, also vice president of Pittsburgh ,
Pa. , based
Renda Broadcasting, said the suspension is indefinite for now. “We take this
very seriously. We take our FCC license very seriously,” he said.
The station’s bit got the attention of Patty DiPiero from
Lee County Utilities. She said Lee County residents began calling the utility
this morning saying they heard on the station that county water was unsafe and
should not be used for drinking, showering or for any use.
DiPiero stressed in an email to media outlets that the
utility was not having any issues with the water supply and the water is safe
to use.
That's a pretty harsh punishment for the stupidity of humans who could have googled dihyrogen monoxide ... It was April 1st! Duh! If all they said was it was coming out of the taps then fool on the public. However, if they told the public on the air that the water was unsafe then they went too far. People are gullible fools 365 days of the year, think at least one day they would take things with a grain of salt ...
ReplyDeleteWow. Station went too far in suspending DJs over pranking an ignorant listening base. Can you imagine if they had said Sodium Chloride has been found in virtually all the restaurants in the local area along with dihydrogen monoxide! Rioting may have occurred in the streets!!
ReplyDelete