xmanadan
10-25-2006, 06:01 PM
I just found out about this.
Potty talk ends shock jock era in Atlanta
By RODNEY HO
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/25/2006
Shock radio is dead in Atlanta.
The firing of the edgy Regular Guys from 96rock this week comes amid a continuing national trend cracking down on broadcasting indecency. No other local broadcaster appears poised to fill the void.
Whether that's a good thing depends on how you spin your dial.
Nationally, the phenomenon of bawdy, stunt-happy deejays exploded in the 1990s. Atlanta was immune to its appeal at first. National superstar Howard Stern never made it on air locally, and syndicated offshoots like the Greaseman and John Boy and Billy failed to make a dent.
"Atlanta has that clash, the melding of Southern politeness and the Northern influence that makes it tough to succeed" for these types of shows, said Michael Harrison, editor of Talkers magazine, a trade publication about talk radio.
But the Regular Guys, who came to 96rock in 1998, figured out how to make it work in Atlanta, melding a Yankee mentality with Southern sensibility, including a good ol' boy sidekick as an amusing counterpoint.
By 2000, the Regular Guys — co-hosts Larry Wachs and Eric Von Haessler — had become a force among male listeners, consistently finishing in the top four in their target audience of men ages 25-54. While detractors liked to paint their fans as rednecks, demographic studies showed the team drew a surprisingly upscale audience.
But now they've been fired for the second time in three years. And it's unclear if any radio companies in the market, much less corporate owner Clear Channel, will try to replicate the Regular Guys formula anytime soon.
Wachs and Von Haessler were dismissed Monday by Clear Channel, the nation's largest radio owner, for recording two colleagues' bathroom-stall conversation and mocking it on the air.
Cumulus Media, an Atlanta-based radio company that owns Top 40 Q100 and alternative rock 99X, has shied away from the genre, personified by syndicated bad-boy Stern, who has since fled to satellite radio. Cumulus dumped 99X's acid-tongued Fred Toucher in the spring, opting for a more conservative morning show launched this month starring Sean Demery.
Atlanta-based Cox Radio, which owns five radio stations in town including rock station 97.1 The River, "is not interested in that type of humor," said Vice President Chris Wegmann. (Cox Radio is part of Cox Enterprises, owner of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.)
On rock station Dave FM, owned by New York-based CBS Radio, the morning show switched last month to a music intensive format with minimal talk.
Shock jockery hit a roadblock after Janet Jackson bared her breast in the 2004 Super Bowl, which fueled a collective uproar that led to a Federal Communications Commission crackdown and spurred Congress to increase fines for indecency tenfold.
Clear Channel, a San Antonio-based company that owns more than 1,200 radio stations including five in Atlanta, instituted a "zero tolerance" policy against indecency and dropped Stern, who soon left for unregulated paid satellite radio. Shows like the Regular Guys were placed on 20-second delay and, in an act of defiance, Wachs in March 2004 tried to air pornographic talk backward.
But a producer error caused the graphic talk to air over an advertisement. The Regular Guys were taken off the air, only to return last year — with major restrictions. No more porn star guests or explicit sexual humor, Clear Channel said.
The Regular Guys' relatively conservative audience cheered their stance against illegal immigration. The DJs mocked their Spanish-speaking counterpoints down the hallway at Clear Channel on Viva 105.7, morning hosts Juan "Yogi" Tapia and Jose "Panda" Carias.
On Oct. 9, Wachs said, he entered the Clear Channel restroom with the voice recorder he used to make notes before his show meeting. He said Tapia and Carias entered and sat in the stalls. "We had a conversation," Wachs said. "They knew I was in there. They were yelling slurs at me in Spanish." He taped their conversation and played it on the air Oct. 10.
On Oct. 13, Tapia and Carias filed a lawsuit for unspecified damages in Fulton County Superior Court, citing invasion of privacy and negligent hiring. The Regular Guys were suspended Oct. 16 and fired Monday. Producer Tim Andrews was let go Tuesday.
In his blog Monday night, Wachs wrote, "A case of a humorous prank has turned into a culture clash, a suppression of 1st Amendment rights and a ridiculous smear campaign against me as well as termination of my income without due process."
Jamie Hernan, attorney for Tapia and Carias, said the pair was not available for comment.
Comments on ajc.com's Radio Talk blog were decidedly split. "This isn't about race, it's about TRG [the Regular Guys] doing something wrong and paying for it," Latino4Life wrote Tuesday. "If it had been the other way around, I'm sure they'd be the ones crying to CC [Clear Channel]." (Writers on the blog choose the names under which they post comments.)
"Good riddance to those two Howard Stern wannabes," Michelle wrote on the blog. "I can't even listen to their show without getting angry or grossed out."
In an interview, Neil Millman, a 42-year-old Lawrenceville customer service manager, said, "It's a radio bit. Last time I checked, Yogi and Panda are in radio. They should expect it. It's punishing a scorpion for stinging someone."
Notable Atlanta radio morning shows that go after the same audience as the Regular Guys are sports-oriented: Christopher Rude on 680 The Fan and Mayhem in the AM on 790 The Zone.
"You can be edgy without crossing the line," said Andrew Saltzman, president of the Zone. "They crossed the line. ... It's not good radio."
In the Regular Guys' old time slot, listeners for now can now hear classic rock.
"It shocks me that adult humor has no place here," lamented "Southside" Steve Rickman, a Regular Guys sidekick who worked with 96rock for most of the past 14 years. "I'm a native Atlantan. I grew up with that 'Smokey and the Bandit' type of humor. When it comes to entertainment, it's OK to be edgy and have that type of morning show. Atlanta can't handle it."
Potty talk ends shock jock era in Atlanta
By RODNEY HO
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/25/2006
Shock radio is dead in Atlanta.
The firing of the edgy Regular Guys from 96rock this week comes amid a continuing national trend cracking down on broadcasting indecency. No other local broadcaster appears poised to fill the void.
Whether that's a good thing depends on how you spin your dial.
Nationally, the phenomenon of bawdy, stunt-happy deejays exploded in the 1990s. Atlanta was immune to its appeal at first. National superstar Howard Stern never made it on air locally, and syndicated offshoots like the Greaseman and John Boy and Billy failed to make a dent.
"Atlanta has that clash, the melding of Southern politeness and the Northern influence that makes it tough to succeed" for these types of shows, said Michael Harrison, editor of Talkers magazine, a trade publication about talk radio.
But the Regular Guys, who came to 96rock in 1998, figured out how to make it work in Atlanta, melding a Yankee mentality with Southern sensibility, including a good ol' boy sidekick as an amusing counterpoint.
By 2000, the Regular Guys — co-hosts Larry Wachs and Eric Von Haessler — had become a force among male listeners, consistently finishing in the top four in their target audience of men ages 25-54. While detractors liked to paint their fans as rednecks, demographic studies showed the team drew a surprisingly upscale audience.
But now they've been fired for the second time in three years. And it's unclear if any radio companies in the market, much less corporate owner Clear Channel, will try to replicate the Regular Guys formula anytime soon.
Wachs and Von Haessler were dismissed Monday by Clear Channel, the nation's largest radio owner, for recording two colleagues' bathroom-stall conversation and mocking it on the air.
Cumulus Media, an Atlanta-based radio company that owns Top 40 Q100 and alternative rock 99X, has shied away from the genre, personified by syndicated bad-boy Stern, who has since fled to satellite radio. Cumulus dumped 99X's acid-tongued Fred Toucher in the spring, opting for a more conservative morning show launched this month starring Sean Demery.
Atlanta-based Cox Radio, which owns five radio stations in town including rock station 97.1 The River, "is not interested in that type of humor," said Vice President Chris Wegmann. (Cox Radio is part of Cox Enterprises, owner of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.)
On rock station Dave FM, owned by New York-based CBS Radio, the morning show switched last month to a music intensive format with minimal talk.
Shock jockery hit a roadblock after Janet Jackson bared her breast in the 2004 Super Bowl, which fueled a collective uproar that led to a Federal Communications Commission crackdown and spurred Congress to increase fines for indecency tenfold.
Clear Channel, a San Antonio-based company that owns more than 1,200 radio stations including five in Atlanta, instituted a "zero tolerance" policy against indecency and dropped Stern, who soon left for unregulated paid satellite radio. Shows like the Regular Guys were placed on 20-second delay and, in an act of defiance, Wachs in March 2004 tried to air pornographic talk backward.
But a producer error caused the graphic talk to air over an advertisement. The Regular Guys were taken off the air, only to return last year — with major restrictions. No more porn star guests or explicit sexual humor, Clear Channel said.
The Regular Guys' relatively conservative audience cheered their stance against illegal immigration. The DJs mocked their Spanish-speaking counterpoints down the hallway at Clear Channel on Viva 105.7, morning hosts Juan "Yogi" Tapia and Jose "Panda" Carias.
On Oct. 9, Wachs said, he entered the Clear Channel restroom with the voice recorder he used to make notes before his show meeting. He said Tapia and Carias entered and sat in the stalls. "We had a conversation," Wachs said. "They knew I was in there. They were yelling slurs at me in Spanish." He taped their conversation and played it on the air Oct. 10.
On Oct. 13, Tapia and Carias filed a lawsuit for unspecified damages in Fulton County Superior Court, citing invasion of privacy and negligent hiring. The Regular Guys were suspended Oct. 16 and fired Monday. Producer Tim Andrews was let go Tuesday.
In his blog Monday night, Wachs wrote, "A case of a humorous prank has turned into a culture clash, a suppression of 1st Amendment rights and a ridiculous smear campaign against me as well as termination of my income without due process."
Jamie Hernan, attorney for Tapia and Carias, said the pair was not available for comment.
Comments on ajc.com's Radio Talk blog were decidedly split. "This isn't about race, it's about TRG [the Regular Guys] doing something wrong and paying for it," Latino4Life wrote Tuesday. "If it had been the other way around, I'm sure they'd be the ones crying to CC [Clear Channel]." (Writers on the blog choose the names under which they post comments.)
"Good riddance to those two Howard Stern wannabes," Michelle wrote on the blog. "I can't even listen to their show without getting angry or grossed out."
In an interview, Neil Millman, a 42-year-old Lawrenceville customer service manager, said, "It's a radio bit. Last time I checked, Yogi and Panda are in radio. They should expect it. It's punishing a scorpion for stinging someone."
Notable Atlanta radio morning shows that go after the same audience as the Regular Guys are sports-oriented: Christopher Rude on 680 The Fan and Mayhem in the AM on 790 The Zone.
"You can be edgy without crossing the line," said Andrew Saltzman, president of the Zone. "They crossed the line. ... It's not good radio."
In the Regular Guys' old time slot, listeners for now can now hear classic rock.
"It shocks me that adult humor has no place here," lamented "Southside" Steve Rickman, a Regular Guys sidekick who worked with 96rock for most of the past 14 years. "I'm a native Atlantan. I grew up with that 'Smokey and the Bandit' type of humor. When it comes to entertainment, it's OK to be edgy and have that type of morning show. Atlanta can't handle it."