Anti-immigrant Disc Jockey Fired
-
August 31st 1996
KTSE-AM in Sacramento, California has fired disc jockey Jeff Katz for
urging listeners to use their cars to hit illegal immigrants trying to cross
into the U.S. from Mexico. During his morning talk show, Katz said drivers
should be awarded sombrero bumper stickers that could be redeemed for a meal
at Taco Bell. The National Hispanic Media Coalition, based in Los Angeles,
took credit for the firing.
Jeff
responded to this in an interview with Simon Perry in All
Access ...
Sacramento
was my biggest learning experience. I worked for a great GM
in Dave Burke and a brilliant PD in Ken Kohl. I learned more
from Ken than any PD I've ever known. I did middays up
against Rush and beat him (although I've got to give lots of
thanks to O.J. Simpson for his help in that regard) and
eventually was moved to mornings. In morning drive I had a
great support staff and was able to really start making a
dent in the market. In California, illegal immigration was
always a hot topic and one day while broadcasting from San
Diego I started talking about these signs they have on the
freeways there that show a family running across the road.
Ever the smart ass, I repeated what a caller had said about
that not being effective. Rather if you aimed at them, they
would be more likely to stop. I also added some comments
about using sombrero stickers on the side of the car like
the pilots used to have in WWII. It was clearly satire and
totally in jest...it was followed up with a discussion of
how selfish my parents were for wanting to eat EVERY day.
Good taste, bad taste, funny or not, it was used by the
mayor of Sacramento to launch a campaign to get me off the
air and it worked. It was a tremendous learning experience.
I realized that there are lots of things more important than
radio. I saw how friends turned their backs. I also took
time to visit Mexico on a number of occasions. I learned a
lot from that.
Jeff
Katz - Take him or leave him - more background info,
scroll down the page. It's a recent interview from this
past summer, informative, flattering and has 2 pictures
Catholic
league for Religious and Civil Rights - 1998 full excperts
July 9
Boston, MA – WRKO talk show hosts Darlene McCarthy and Jeff
Katz responded to the Pope's call for Catholics to attend Sunday Mass more
regularly by ridiculing the Pope and Catholicism. They declared that no man
who "wears a dress and a funny hat" can tell them what to do. They
called the Mass "mumbo jumbo"; argued that parents were wasting
their children's time by taking them to church; and sarcastically suggested
that brownies be used as Communion hosts, to make the Eucharist more
appealing to children. A remark was passed about priests molesting children
in the back room of the church.
July 15
Boston, MA – Offended that a local pastor urged parishioners to
write in protest of his and Darlene McCarthy's July 9 attacks on the Church,
WRKO host Jeff Katz resumed his diatribe against the Pope's call for
Catholics to attend Mass more faithfully. Attacking all organized religion
as hypocrisy, Katz zeroed in on believers in Jesus. When one woman called to
discuss her personal relationship with Jesus, Katz asked if she had met
Jesus "in a freezer in New Jersey." He laughed appreciatively when
one caller mocked the crucifixion by stating that when a bystander asked
Jesus if he was dying for our sins, Jesus replied, "Not if you have a
ladder and some pliers." Katz also charged that the pope's motivation
in promoting Mass attendance was that he would be "out of a job"
if people stopped going to church.
Talking it out on the radio
- Daily News article on radio reaction after the
attacks - relevant excerpt -
At WPHT, Jeff Katz, a former Philadelphia Housing Authority cop who hosts
a talk show in Las Vegas, filled in from 3 to 5 p.m. He played what was
described as an "exclusive interview" with Nasser Al Qedwa,
Palestinian representative to the United Nations. In the show, which
included coarse language, he fielded calls from Philadelphia residents about
the attack.
"A loaf of bread means more to them than a life," said a caller
named Don, referring to the terrorists. Katz later expressed dismay about
the president.
"My fear is this President Bush is going to be like Poppy,"
Bush's father, Katz said. And what should happen to the Palestinian
territory? "Need more parking for the FU center? The West Bank's
looking good."
Shock jock aftershocks
- a rather interesting article posted on
a journalism school website. It was first run in USA
today in 1999 about hosts getting into trouble, getting fired
and then moving to another market for more money and higher
ratings. It mentions Jeff Katz and Rollye James as well
as including an errie quote from John Ziegler ... The threat of being fired "creates a tension that is palpable, that
the audience appreciates." ummm I can say
for certain that when the audience has a favorite host they do
NOT appreciate such tension. Doing it on purpose plays
them for fools.
Boston Radio ratings and updates, snips...
a brief snippet, excerpted here... *WRKO-AM (680) morning man Jeff Katz
... Even the new issue of Boston magazine wishes Katz a quick heave-ho. But
his 12-plus numbers jumped a full point to a 4.7 share this spring, and his
show is now sixth in the market.
