550 AM No More
[I write this not as one of the founders of CitizenWausau, but rather as a person who lives in Wausau. I am not speaking for Andy or any others involved in CitizenWausau.]
I know that we must always work with great diligence to separate the news, from the entertainment, the wheat from the chaff so to speak. I have spent two weeks soul searching about this, and I know Matt Lehmen does his best, and honestly his work is something to be respected. I know that, but I also know that my not saying something about locally created programming that seeks to be something other than entertainment, well that is something I have to say something about. And what I have to say is this…
I have had enough of you, Pat and Tom. I honestly cannot tell you apart anymore. When I ask friends which one is the bully, and which one the whipping boy is, they tell me. Only then do I know, and I only know for a few moments, because at the end of the day, it does not matter. How one man has a career based on getting bullied and mocked each morning in a completely uncivil manner is beyond me, but so it goes.
Today a line was crossed though, and it was a line we won’t return from. A caller this morning(I wrote this two weeks ago), John, made a patently racist comment that mocked and denigrated those of Latino lineage. The hosts of the shows, MODERATORS, did nothing to confront this blatant act of racism, and instead allowed John to make his silly comment to the guest of the show. He made a disparaging comment that included the line, “Mamacitas in Escalades.”
That was the last straw. I turned my radio off on the drive to work, and just stewed. The hosts did not give out a number to call, as I am sure the lines were full of Homers waiting to pounce on this poor author who was on the air to talk about her book. A book that, by the way, rails against corporate influence on our government — something that on any other day the bully rails against himself. But this day, the bully took on the role of a bully who supports an apparent version of capitalism that is Utopian in nature. Or he just wanted to beat up (poorly, I might add) on this woman who did him the service of calling into his show.
The 550 AM show has turned into a terrible display of Central Wisconsin negativity, and mean-spirited nature. It celebrates the negative call. The bully pounds on the other guy for even suggesting anyone do further research. The bully pounds on the other guy for everything. It is a sad display.
It is a display of the further dumbing down of our culture. The increase in anti-intellectual pride in our country, the replacing of evidence with belief, the replacing of discussion with bullying. Any attempt by the other guy to bring up any sort of research is met with derision, and mockery by the bully. Apparently peer-reviewed academic journals or journalists are not good enough for folks anymore. We just live in some vacuum of our own making.
You have failed me, both intellectually and as broadcasters. You serve the people, and we give your company that spectrum to use. You make a living off of our ears, and you infect us with your bullying. You allow patently racist, xenophobic, homophobic comments to go forth. You say things you know are not true, and you let them stand as fact. You treat local government with disdain.
It is you who have failed the great opportunity given you. You had a chance to elevate the city of Wausau, to engage the listeners in discussions about the city policies, to have civic leaders in to talk about our cities future. Instead you sought to create a mini Crossfire, instead of a meeting of the minds we are left with a bully, and his minimized sidekick.
So it is with great sadness that I say Pat and Tom, you shall darken my ears no more. Your terrible reporting of stories, your clichéd reading of headlines and commenting in snarky ways, your bullying of the other guy is over with for me. I shall listen no more. Instead, I will go to the Web site, and figure out who your sponsors are, and I will not shop at those places. Businesses that support you will not get my dollars. Promotions from your station will not get my dollars. I will act.
I will act like a capitalist.
I will act with my dollars. I shall take this stand today.
Cheryl Mathis said:
It’s a shame that this predictable comedy team would feel some sense of responsibility for the content of the callers’ comments. I stopped listening to them a long time ago. My first instinct would be to write a letter to the station manager expressing my outrage… but they might just equate that with higher ratings. Noise means numbers, and they can charge more in advertising dollars.
I suggest writing an letter to the editor at WDH, laying out your argument against the station and encouraging others to write in. As a community, we shouldn’t let them get away with such blatant bigotry. We have a hard enough time mingling the races as it is.
August 25th, 2008 at 1:59 pm #
matthew said:
This is nothing new. I refused to listen to them a long time ago. I don’t need to waste my time with a second-rate, (third-rate?, fourth-rate?) Rush Limbaugh. It does provide an eye-opening experience for people who are unfamiliar with them. Remember when there was the debate about whether or not there should be a casino in Wausau? A couple of UWMC professors went on the show after studying things like the social and economic impact of casinos. They had no ax to grind, they simply wanted to convey information. After the show was over they both came away shocked by the amount of vitriol and out right bigotry expressed by the callers. Bigotry that, as you say, went unchallenged by one host. But, because I don’t listen to the antics of Pat Snyder and Mrs. Pat Snyder, I don’t know who the sponsors are. If I did, I would certainly not frequent them and let them know the reason why. They both are, as you suggest, a disgrace in their own way. Al Franken would always refer to Alan Colmes is very small font size in his books as an expression of the disgraceful way he allowed Sean Hannity to push him aroumd. That’s the way to think of Tom King.
August 25th, 2008 at 2:43 pm #
robertmentzer said:
Do they really say things they know are not true? That is a huge deal if it is true, and something that more people should know about. Do you have any specific examples in mind?
August 25th, 2008 at 8:02 pm #
Dino Corvino said:
You are very right Rob. I am sorry for that. They might not know they are saying something that is factually incorrect.
But you can hear the bullied one often correct the bully, and tell him he is wrong, and the bully falls back on “That is how I see it”.
Like Matthew pointed out about Devyn, sometimes things are simply not true. What is worse, is when someone offers up the factually correct thing, which the bullied one often does…and listeners and the bully reject him.
Thank you for the corrective statement Rob.
August 25th, 2008 at 8:07 pm #
David Keeffe said:
What I find hilarious about Mutt and Jeff … or how about Dumb and Dumber … oh well let’s just call it Pat and Tom … is listening to Snyder’s canned weekend show on 94.7 when he is directed to or feels he needs to offer up commentary before or after playing some Hippie anthem like California Dreaming, or For What It’s Worth (What’s That Sound?) … or some other anti war ballad. I laugh every time I hear this. It might be good therapy for you Dino.
I have literally laughed out loud at this manifestation of Mr. Snyder’s shameless and cheap price that he has traded his soul for.
And Rob … your comment reminds me of the wise adage: “Half a truth is still a whole lie”.
I forget who wrote that … probably some monk somewhere … but this half truth/still a whole lie stuff is what these prostitutes of the air waves have mastered.
Dino … I think that Pat and Tom are like many of us … they do what they are told at their job and have settled into a comfort zone.
Ironically in their case … a benefit package and a 401K do not make for the kind of comfort that comes from refusing to exploit half truths and the bigotry and sensationalism that come with half truths … just for a paycheck.
I’ll bet they both struggle with sleeping soundly.
Maybe not though … after all they are ‘just’ entertainers like Rush.
Nice piece Dino.
August 28th, 2008 at 8:32 am #