Opie and Anthony Reportedly Fired from XM

Discussion in 'Politics & Current Events' started by Z010 Union, May 16, 2007.

  1. Cascarino's Pizzeria

    Apr 29, 2001
    New Jersey, USA
     
  2. Z010 Union

    Z010 Union Moderator
    Staff Member

    Mar 28, 2002
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    And you don't think that a group of social misfits invading a elite suburban shopping mall and the sharp contrasts between the participants and the normal patrons is entertaining?

    Listening to an 18 year old girl cry out in disgust as someone not from her country club shops in her store is gold.
     
  3. Matt in the Hat

    Matt in the Hat Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 21, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yeah. And so what? They aren't a charity
     
  4. I am Joe²

    I am Joe² New Member

    Jan 10, 2001
    Jersey
    Homeless shopping spree was great, I was there, the mall was mobbed. The homeless felt like rockstars and left the mall with loads of gifts. O&A get good radio and the homeless have a great time and walk away with lots of new stuff. When was the last time a homeless guy was allowed to stroll around a mall?

    Anyway, here's the full clip of Patrice O'Neal on Fox news. A lesson on funny.

    [youtube]fjIuPSuYSOY[/youtube]
     
  5. Matt in the Hat

    Matt in the Hat Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 21, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Why? Again, they are not a charity. And the homeless people on the show enjoy being on the show. I've met some of their homless people (Stalker Patty, in particular) and if you can see the way her life is going now from the way it was when she was sleeping under the steps at WNEW, well, it's just amazing. It's crazy what a little bit of attention and self respect can do for a person

    It seems like you would rather these people be forgotten than be celebrated. It also seems like you don't have much of a day to day interaction with homeless people and are being perverted by the bigotry of low expectations That's sad.
     
  6. Cascarino's Pizzeria

    Apr 29, 2001
    New Jersey, USA
    Blah, blah. Still more bits stolen from Stern.
     
  7. Matt in the Hat

    Matt in the Hat Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 21, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    When did Stern invade a mall with a bus full of homeless guys?
     
  8. I am Joe²

    I am Joe² New Member

    Jan 10, 2001
    Jersey


    Hoo Hoo, I invented everything, Robin. Tell 'em Fred.
     
  9. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
    You assume a lot about me. I myself don't deal or meet many homeless persons, but my wife worked with them on an almost daily basis a few years ago and I doubt she would approve of O&A' way of dealing with them. I'll ask her for her opinion tonight and get back to you.

    Do you seriously believe they want to improve the life of those homeless people? The only thing they want to improve by bringing them on the show is their ratings. Don't make their actions out to be something they are not. If they feel comfortable exploiting vulnerable members of society for their own and other's amusement, they should own up to it.
     
  10. Matt in the Hat

    Matt in the Hat Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 21, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    They do own up to it. And again, it's not exploitation unless you think the homeless are lesser people. It is a mutually beneficial agreement.

    BTW, have you ever heard the show?
     
  11. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
    Apart from the homeless person excerpt that got them into trouble, I haven't.

    So you think it is alright to put a mentally unstable person on the air for the sole purpose of having him say ludicrous statements? I never said homeless people should be ignored, or have no place in the media, just that when they do, they should be treated with respect, and not put on display like some freak show.
     
  12. I am Joe²

    I am Joe² New Member

    Jan 10, 2001
    Jersey
    Did you actually hear the entire audio, or just the clip the news plays?
     
  13. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
    I heard the exchange between the homeless guy and O&A which lead to the controversy. I'm not sure what you mean by the entire audio...
     
  14. Matt in the Hat

    Matt in the Hat Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 21, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It's available on audible.com. Listen to the entire show and get back to us on wether you think this is exploitation.
     
  15. Matt in the Hat

    Matt in the Hat Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 21, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    More collateral damage:

    http://ronfez.net/home.php

    Now granted, R&F were the #2 talk show in their timeslot, only behind Mark Levin so the agument that the market was taking out the garbage is out the window. Also, Ron and Fez Marie are not typically shocking but rather a show that most on this board would probably enjoy if they had access to it.

    Sad shame.

    On the other hand, there has been no news of the cancelation of O&A on XM 202. Apparently the rumor was just that. And as soon as I hear that live broadcasts are back, I will re-up my subscription. Opie and Anthony will still be holding down the 6-9 slot on 92.3
     
  16. Rowdies4ever

    Rowdies4ever New Member

    Jun 11, 2006
    New England
    I never liked O&A or found them funny but obviously some people do. I don't care if their crap offends me, because I don't listen. Problem solved.

    I thought the entire purpose of XM, however, was not to cater to mass tastes and the easily offended (who have made terrestrial radio a rather bland wasteland) but rather to cater to niche audiences.

    Well, they don't get any "nicher" than O&A. If O&A is going to be subject to the same kinds of political pressures from the "I-am-offended" crowd as terrestrial radio is, what is the point of satellite subscription radio, exactly?

    And since it isn't their advertisers or paying audience who are offended, apparently, then a logical conclusion would be that political pressures are being applied via the FCC over the XM/Sirius merger talks. I have no idea if this theory is true but it does seem plausible.

    Anyway I wouldn't notice if O&A dropped off the face of the earth tomorrow, but there are some important principles at stake here. No matter how unattractive I might happen to think O&A are.
     
  17. Rowdies4ever

    Rowdies4ever New Member

    Jun 11, 2006
    New England
    Either way, offensive to someone, potentially, and that was the point. Borat wasn't just "joking about his own race" he was also slandering Kazaks (who most certainly are not known for being particularly anti-semitic; Borat has transferred some Eastern European stereotypes on to the poor Kazaks), and by extension also his own audience of mostly white middle American types whom he was acusing/implying (just joking haha) of being antisemitic Jew murderers. Haha, real funny. Smile like a dummy, sing "throw the Jew down the well" like the strange man asked you to, and pretend you don't know what's going on. Don't dare be offended.

    You see what is going on here. If you are a nice guy and don't take offense when people use you as a butt of humor, if you are a reasonable person who does not have a chip on his shoulder, you become a target for this sort of "humor". Because you are a "safe" target; you are too polite to fight back or get offended. If however, you get offended at anything and go after anyone you don't like, you become a "protected group" and no one is allowed to say "boo" about you.

    That's how political correctness works. The most easily offended and most aggresively hostile groups rise to the top of the "PC victimhood pyramid". Of course they are enabled in this little game by the "we must be extra-polite to the special people" crowd.

    If everyone would chill out a bit and grow a thicker skin we'd get along with each other a lot better.
     
  18. Rowdies4ever

    Rowdies4ever New Member

    Jun 11, 2006
    New England
    Niche programming draws niche advertising. That's why niche programming exists in the first place.
     
  19. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Um, you should be in the Olympics, with your ability to make leaps of logic.

    Alot of stations are getting rid of (expensive) live DJs and going to canned shifts.

    Could it be that that's what has happened here?

    I can't help but notice ZERO mention of them being gone due to off-color comments.
     
  20. Matt in the Hat

    Matt in the Hat Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 21, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    92.3 still has live DJ's. Try again.
     
  21. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You still haven't found any reference to Imus or O&A.

    YOU try again. YOU made the connection.

    PS...guys who just spin discs are cheaper than "personalities," so you still don't know that it wasn't a cost-saving measure. Further, another reason stations change formats is that while the ratings may be good, the demos suck. How do you know the switch to rock wasn't driven by that? Further, from what YOU wrote, it's the whole damn station that changed.

    IOW, your bump here is pathetically weak.
     
  22. Matt in the Hat

    Matt in the Hat Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 21, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Here's the link. O&A and JV and Elvis get in trouble. They compose almost 1/3 of the total programming on the station. 92.3 free FM was doing quite well in it's target demos until the PC police came out of the woodwork. Then all of a sudden, JV and Elvis get fired and O&A get in trouble on XM. If you are a program manager, do you need the headache? Obviously not.

    So you go to something safe. Playing "New Rock" from the 80's and 90's.

    Oh, and ASCAP members do quite well in NYC, be it talkers or spinners. The cost difference is negligable
     
  23. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Oh, I didn't know that O&A were on the same station.

    Oh, well, I still don't give a ********.
     
  24. Matt in the Hat

    Matt in the Hat Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 21, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Then why do you even respond?

    Smarter trolls please
     
  25. obie

    obie New Member

    Nov 18, 1998
    NY, NY
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It's really a shame that seemingly none of O&A's others listeners look at the shopping spree the same way.

    I was in the Short Hills Mall last December when this happened, and I had no idea what it was. It became pretty obvious after a few minutes of watching these mobs of people wandering en masse to different stores that it was a radio stunt, and then it was obviously O&A. Googled it when I got home, and found an O&A message board just ripping the daylights out of the homeless people. The admins were saying before the event that they had found the drunkest, most strung out, smelliest bums (their word) they could possibly find, and the accounts of the people there were all about how completely hideous the homeless people were. Very little about the horrified Short Hills suburbanites... probably because most people were more perplexed and bemused than horrified at the sight of one homeless guy being followed into The Sharper Image by 100+ fanboys carrying phonecams and cheering when the guy paid for whatever he bought.

    It was preying on the most helpless people in the city for ratings and cheap laughs, and allowing a rather pathetic subset of the O&A audience who would actually agree to attend this "event" that they were superior to these homeless people in every possibly way.
     

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