Week of racism in US media

KFI suspends two hosts for calling Whitney Houston a crack ho

ESPN fires writer of a headline calling Jeremy Lin a Chink

From where I sit On The Kowch, last week just went from bad to worse with racist comments in the US media. First two KFI Radio hosts called Whitney Houston a crack ho and then an ESPN anchor and a headline writer called New York Knicks basketball sensation Jeremy Lin a Chink.

I know we Canadians are polite and more politically correct on air than our US media cousins. But really how can these professional US broadcasters on iconic radio and TV stations in America think it's okay to refer to Asians as Chinks and a dead super star as a ho?

Thank goodness the people in charge of these media outlets have the brains to recognize racism, even cleverly disguised racism hidden in a headline or an insensitive joke to take the proper action. The scary thing is that many listeners and viewers in America just don't get it. They are actually upset that people have been fired or suspended over these comments. These people are the reason why racism exists in the US Media. They support these broadcasters who get fooled into thinking it's okay to say these things.

Well it's not ok to call Whitney Houston a crack ho and Jeremy Lin a Chink or a Chink in the Armor.

KFI radio in Los Angeles had no choice but to suspend hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou for calling Whitney Houston a crack ho only days before her funeral. It doesn't matter that The Ken and John Show is the most listened to talk show in Los Angeles. Their comments were insensitive and crossed the line.

Check out the headline in the photo below to determine if ESPN did the right thing firing the person who wrote the Chink in the Armor headline under a photo of New York Knicks Asian-American basketball star Jeremy Lin that was seen around the world Saturday on mobile devices.

On Friday an ESPN anchor used the same phrase to describe Lin. The anchor was suspended for 30 days.

On ESPN Radio in New York, a guest commentator also referred to the basketball player as a Chink in the Armor of a competing  basketball team that night. However, ESPN said he wasn't an employee of their network so no disciplinary action was taken against that announcer.

ESPN issued a formal apology on their website Reaction from the Asian community was outrage at the headline and supported the firing and suspension. But non Asians were mixed with many saying it wasn't a racist phrase.  Really? How in the world can anyone say the use of the word Chink isn't a racial slur against Asians.

Over at KFI the same argument is being played out with listeners who don't think calling Whitney Houston a crack ho is racist. Listen to the audio and you be the judge.

Here is how KFI announced the suspensions on its website.

KFI had hoped the suspensions would head off a backlash from the black community. But black civil rights leaders in LA say the hosts should be fired.   "How many times do John and Ken get to spew their hate, apologize and then do it again? KFI must permanently remove John and Ken from the air. Los Angeles deserves better," said one black civil rights leader.

It doesn't help that KFI is pretty much an angry white man radio station while across town there is a black urban talk station with big name civil rights activists using the crack ho comments to attack the competition.

This should not be about one station capitalizing on insensitive comments by the competition. To me, after listening to the tape of the show, this is about two hosts crossing the line. Up until the point they referred to Houston as a crack ho their unflattering opinions and description of the singer were fair editorial comment.

Almost three years ago to the day, CBS talk radio icon Don Imus was fired for calling the  Rutgers women's basketball team nappy-headed hos. Black civil rights leaders said Imus was guilty of "using the public airwaves to transmit racial or sexual degradation".

These same black community leaders today are saying the same thing about John and Ken's comments on KFI.

From where I sit On The Kowch, hopefully the firing and suspensions will be a wake up call for the US Media to understand that freedom of speech doesn't include racial slurs. If Imus had referred to the women as nappy-headed basket ball players and John and Ken had called Houston a crackhead no one would have lost their job or been suspended.

Steve was in charge of programming Canada's two largest newstalk radio stations for 14 years

You can email Steve at steve@kowchmedia.com

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