Angel Of Death

PORTLAND, Ore. — Two Portland disc jockeys were fired from a local radio station after playing an audiotape of the beheading of American Nick Berg by Iraqi militants, and cracking jokes about the grisly death.

The DJs, known as Marconi and Tiny, were fired Thursday afternoon from their morning show perch at KNRK-FM, which is owned by Bala Cynwyd, Penn.-based Entercom Communications Corp. (search) Station employees would not release the legal names of the DJs.

Listeners complained about the Wednesday broadcast.

The station's manager sent an apology out over the airwaves, saying: "The actions of the KNRK news morning show were insensitive, inappropriate and repulsive. On behalf of Entercom Portland and KNRK, I apologize to our listeners."

One of the DJs apologized on his Web site, posting a statement that read, "I have become so numb to the horrific things that happen in this world that I sometimes forget there are still people who feel. I in no way meant to be insensitive to anyone. My comments on this were inapropriate (sic)."

Berg's headless body was found Saturday in western Baghdad. Three days later, a videotape posted on an Al Qaeda-related Web site showed him decapitated by hooded, armed men.

U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was the person shown beheading Berg, based on an analysis of the voice on the video, according to CIA officials.

---{ What the **** is wrong with our own citizens today? Do they think they can do ANYTHING for ratings, money, greed? I'm am continually amazed, day in and day out by what a shitty world we live in. }---

N-Ish

CENSORSHIP IS UnAMERICAN:
Failing America’s Next Generation is InDECENT

It’s no surprise that in a presidential election year, the war over cultural values and free expression has returned. If you live in America, you’ve been bombarded by the latest public debate about what in our media is InDECENT and what is just plain threatening to our 1st Amendment rights. Politicians on both sides of the aisle, egged on by the threats and investigations by the F.C.C. (the government agency that oversees the airwaves) have used the unfortunate incident of Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” as a springboard to launch a much larger cultural crackdown against sex.

Politicians who aren’t busy denouncing sex in the media, are busy opposing marriage for same-sex couples, even promising to write this bigotry into the U.S. Constitution. We are watching as our government attempts to write discrimination into our Nation’s most sacred laws, while trying to establish freedom and a new constitution in Iraq. We seem to be moving away from years of teaching tolerance and acceptance on our own soil, despite our effort’s at establishing Democracy abroad.

This new wave follows the unforgettable effort to abuse the Dixie Chicks last year for expressing their political beliefs. Free speech, free thought, free expression are under attack in America while, ironically, young patriotic Americans are dying for freedom in Iraq, and the results—a genuine chilling effect on the airwaves and in living rooms—are evident:

Radio disc jockeys and employees have been fired or fined for so-called offensive language.
TV shows have been pulled off the air or edited because of so-called unsuitable language or nudity.
Congress has passed bipartisan legislation increasing the fines for indecent language to $500,000, making free expression a risky proposition.
The real agenda of the anti-expression coalition is becoming clear: use one divisive incident and blow it into an all-out cultural war to win major restrictions on political expression and fuel a campaign of intimidation towards our media. Censorship is UnAmerican, and it is painfully out of step with the mentality of the new generation. This new war is also a distraction from what is TRULY INDECENT in America right now: the lack of health care, stagnant job market and rising cost of education.

So it is our responsibility to speak out and push the nation to focus on the issues that are truly important. In the spirit of a vigorous debate about standards and values, Rock the Vote is launching a new CAMPAIGN AGAINST InDECENCY that we hope will get at least as much attention as Janet Jackson’s nipple ring. The principles of our campaign are as follows:

The Economy is indecent: 67% of 2003 college graduates were forced by economic hardships to move back in with their parents after graduation.
Healthcare is indecent: 16 million 18-30 year olds have no healthcare and are twice as likely as their parents to be uninsured
Education is indecent: The average debt held by college students borrowing for their education is $18,400.

Reds929

I like french fries.

Angel Of Death

????????????

Reds929

Praticing my freedom of speech.

kibbles

Kinda heavy for stunt life but everyone has their points to express and thats what america is about .So kudos to you for seeing that.....BUT , lets not confuse freedom of speech with common sense and common decency. Say what you want and express yourself how you want but dont expect to get a pat on the back for it or collect a paycheck for it.There are more appropriate ways to get the same message across and still express and utilize the same right we are talking about ............my

hot magma

those guys haven't lost their right of free speech they just lost their high paying job. A lot of these multi millionaire talk show hosts are trying to confuse people with this free speech issue.

N-Ish

Dude just so you know.. i didn't write that I'm not that smart.... I just thought it makes some good points... got it off of rockthevote.com

yellowblur

some people think that the 1st amendment gives them the right to say whatever whenever...well it doesn't. media(in all of it's forms) shouldn't be abused to promote one or two peoples ideas. radio is the only real form that isn't edited before publication because it is live and you can't always predict what people might say. i am sure that if the station manager had a complete script in front of him to approve before the broadcast he would have never let that happen. too much credibility at stake. i am glad they were fired. maybe someone else will think twice. for one of them to say he is desensitized is BS. someone in that position should ALWAYS think before they speak. it is convenient to use desensitizing when you are trying to protect your a$$. that was merely damage control so he might get hired again somewhere else some day. i bet if the horrific event had hit him personally he would have been singing a different tune from jump street.

revlimiter

I'M GLAD THOSE GUYS GOT FIRED THEY DISERVERD IT!

No matter what people want to scream about censorship and everyone should have the freedom of speach. I don't think anyone should make humor out of such a brutal murder.

3Fifty

True, some people take advantage of the 1st amendment. It should not be used to crack jokes about an american who had his head sawed off....but it is free speech....