Duluth woman slams radio show as offensive
February 15, 2012 at 6:00 pm in Duluth News Tribune
A Dallas-based syndicated morning show on KZIO 94.1 FM is criticized for conducting a daily contest to determine which contestant is “mentally challenged.” Continue Reading
I say get rid of that stupid morning show. I always used to listen to 94X in the morning because they actually played music… Lex & Terry is god awful on their best day. Bring back the music, I can listen to talk radio elsewhere.
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I was appauled to hear that the radio station played that game. I am the mother of three children who are mentally challenged, they also have Sanfilippo Syndrome. To make fun of somebody that can’t defend themselves is unmoral and totally unexcusable. When we posted on their facebook page it was immediately deleted, when we called the radio station they told us to “get over it” and hung up on us. Who are these heartless people at this radio station? I don’t know if I am more shocked and upset that this game was played on the radio or by the actions of the radio station itself when we voices our concerns. http://www.caringbridge.org/ca/bennettboys
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get a life change the station
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^THIS!
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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I do listen to Lex & Terry and have heard that part of the show before. After reading the article and about I see that know one has mentioned the part that the mentally disabled people they are talking about are the ones who have done it to themselves. They aren’t trying to make fun of handicapped people from birth. They only have people call in that have done something stupid like drive a motorcycle 100 mph that crashed causing brain damamge and making them mentally disabled.
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There are also a lot of people who “did it to themselves” by joining the military and suffering traumatic brain injuries due to roadside bombs and the like — do they have anything funny to say about them?
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No, because they specifically tell contestants they DO NOT WANT YOU TO CALL IN unless your problem is because of something you did because of a stupid decision. The people who are on the bit are on there because they WANT TO and want to have a laugh at themselves. I’ve listened to L&T for years and some lady who tuned in for 10 minutes doesn’t have a clue.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Lord knows that I loathe to admit it (on principle alone), but if your description is correct it sounds as though I was out of line on this one.
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I listen to L&T at least 2 or 3 days a week and have been for years. This story was done with zero research and is a perfect illustration of people jumping to conclusions.
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And the News Tribune jumped all over it. Go figure.
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As a former radio on & off the air worker, if you want to get the station’s attention, hit the advertisers. They are the ones writing the checks to the station for advertising and making it profitable. Organize a group to boycott any and all of the local companies who do business with 94X. You probably won’t do a great deal of damage to the firms, they will remain open and go on. But, you will definately get the attention of station management when advertiser X, Y & Z call and cancel their advertising. If you are quite successful, the local Program Manager will get a call from the bigwigs at the home office and dumping that show will be discussed.
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You all are talking about them. They win.
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with all the talk on AM i can’t see why FM stations don’t stick to what they are best at : hi-fidelity music in stereo – as a music lover i guess that’s why i have an MP3 player; no talk , no chatter and drivel – radio went to hell a long time ago . does anyone else miss the beautiful music format on FM ?
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Yes, we miss it- that is why we have music channels on our tvs and Sirius Radio in our vehicles.
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Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
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Well, yeah, a person can be a jerk if he wants to. If he does it at the expense of someone else who cannot defend against the activity, then the jerk is essentially committing assault.
There are a number of famous entertainers who make a good living by being a professional jerk. Much of the time, their targets are equally well known and capable of defending themselves against such jerks if they wish. The jerk who makes fun of the defenseless is another category, not polite to mention in this forum.
tom koehler
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In all honesty she just wants attention… If something really bothers you, why would you continue to listen? This is just another case of a house wife who is depressed with her boring life and needs an outlet to voice her frustrations. Stop telling others what they can listen to and take responsibility for your own life.
And to Thomas V Koehler, If “making fun” of someone is essentially assault, I bet you get assaulted often.
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Merv, that was the best you can do to contribute to this discussion? That is pitiful
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It’s pretty hard to defend this behavior on the air…..but let me just add that for many years now if you were offended by sex and violence on TV….you were in not so politely told “then don’t watch it, turn the channel” by those of a more “liberal” mindset.
Isn’t this more or less the same issue with a slightly different subject matter ? I agree with jamesem on this one, stop supporting the advertisers and don’t listen to the station and if enough people agree it’s offensive, it will disappear in short order.
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1-Lex & Terry is the…the..theeeeeeeeeeeeee stupidest drive-time show in the history of drive-time. I would honestly rather listen to a family member’s autopsy report than that crap.
2-No matter how bad it is, tough crap. They have a right to say what they want, as long as their bosses don’t mind. YOU do not have a right not to be offended. It’s nowhere in the US Constitution.
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And another thing….”The number 1 drive time program in Fargo”?
Well yeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaw!
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Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
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I must have missed something, just why do you not shop in downtown? Are all of the commercials for downtown merchants? I don’t know, I don’t listen to that station then.
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Mayor Ne$$y’s new mission will now be to tie this in with the anti-whatever campaign.
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I noticed several don’t agree with my comment. That’s your opinion. But as a father of a disabled family member who has to put up with the looks, comments, the fight to get things to improve the quality of life, the attitudes of others when you mention state aid to help offset cost, then to see how people still continue to degrade the disabled, this is upsetting. This is why I will not support businesses that complain the disabled who is trying to work and fit in with the community, is taking up parking spaces for more than 4 hours. I view this as another attack, just like the radio station making jokes about the disabled. Some people do still show respect for disabled and elderly and I give them credit. Just stop poking fun at the disabled. Put yourself in their shoes for a week and maybe you would understand. Imagine never dating, having kids or enjoying life as you know it. Or knowing the disorder may result in a quicker life span. Then you would understand why things of this nature upsets people. Knowledge is the key.
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Fedup, I don’t think many disagree with your premise, it is how you go about your argument I believe others disagree with. I cannot imagine dealing with what you have to, but your argument is so angry, coming across as throwing nearly everyone in one bucket. Your first argument makes it sound like all downtown businesses and owners have not empathy, but I know several owners who are good people and would always help the disadvantaged. Please do not let some imbecile affect your demeanorn, most people are good and caring. I wish you well
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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cmon. Maybe your right and my anger shows. But it is hard to try your best and see other making fun of the disadvantaged, or complain about them for their own personal gain. My anger is more toward the city counselors who listen to a few and make rash changes without looking at the hardship placed on others. I agree with you that it’s not every business owner that feels this way, but the few who does disregard the disables hardship should be embarrased. It would be nice to see the owner who care and I’m sure there are many beecaause they hired the disabled to work and were parking downtown which started the parking restrictions, tell the few who complained. It would be nice to see the city revisit this and help the disabled. But, I don’t want to take away from the story. I also would be offended by any radio station making fun of the disabled. They can’t help themselves, they didn’t ask to be born this way or the people who had a normal life and now are disabled due to an accident. Parents have a hard time dealing with the disablity and is a life changing event. I give every parent my highest respect for raising their child with care and love, giving up so much as the result. But we choose to do this and not force the state to solely care for our kids. And yes I do get angry when I see someone disregard the disabled and make any type of unrespectful comment.
Sorry if I offended anyone.
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They call in on their OWN, to poke fun at themselves. I could understand lashing out if someone were putting a gun to their head and making them call in. They make the choice themselves.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Was the knob that changes the station on her radio broken?
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Really people????? They call in themselves, it’s not like they have a care takers who dials the phone and makes them get on the show. Furthermore, it’s called “Mental Challenge” the “Mental Challenge” is for a person to pick people who are acting that way. People are way to sensitive these days. I REALLY hate Bill Maher, you know what I do??? I don’t watch his show. I don’t call into the T.V. networks and say how offensive he is. One last FACT. for you, do any of you who doesn’t listen to the show know about the over $100,000,000 L&T have raised for Autism and other charities????
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TYPO which you will probably try to bash because no one ever makes typo’s. $100,000.00
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Get over it already… if you don’t like it then tune your radio back to the am station you always listen to. Don’t try and ruin it for the rest of us who have an actual sense of humor. And do your research before printing some pathetic excuse of an article. John Lund is a horrible “reporter” who lied his way through this story….. pathetic …now go ahead and start nailing that dislike button all of you lowlifes
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Sad to say but he will get an award for the investigative reporting.
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I read this article the day it was written and knew it would be talked about the next day on the air. In fact, I found this article on Twitter by a listener who tweeted it to Lex, of Lex and Terry. I knew it would be talked about the next day, and it sure was.
I have been a listener for 13 years now and listen to them just about everyday while driving from job to job. This segment is always preceded by Lex and Terry telling their listeners this is for those who have done something to themselves in their life to end up mentally handicapped. They in NO way make fun of anyone who was born this way (nor have I really ever heard them make fun of anybody with any kind of disabilities). They always make it a point to say they want a person who tried to jump 10 flights of stairs on a skateboard, or tried to dive from a high dive into a bucket of water or something stupid they did to get them into their position. It doesn’t matter how many times they’ve done the segment, they always make sure they tell the audience they want someone who did this to themselves, stupidly. They do this for a purpose, so someone like this lady understands the point of the segment. And as another person commented, these people call in themselves to be on the show. So in a way if anyone is making fun of being mentally handicapped, it’s themselves who call in!
Every radio show isn’t for everyone. I am not offended very easily, but if you are, you have the right to turn the station. There are more offensive radio personalities other than these guys, not to even mention what’s on TV. In fact, they said the day after this was written they gets calls every dad from people who have problems with their show. And most of the time they put the caller on the air to discuss the matter. What gets me is, and the guys said it the next day, no one tried very hard to reach anyone from the show to discuss this woman’s anger. All this article is, is a one sided rant that tries to slander this show for something worse than it actually is. I’m willing to bet this lady ran across the show at just the right time where it sounded bad and did no further investigating. Before I would consider going off on somebody or something, I would do my research before doing any slandering.
I may be biased with my argument as I am a fan of the show, but considering what I know from listening to their show and what this lady doesn’t by not, I feel I have valid points and a strong argument to support them and this issue. By the way, had she or the reporter called the show to get 2 sides of the story, they would have found out they are avid supporters of raising awareness and money for autism. They hold a Lex and Terry Ride for Autism just about every year (if not every year) and proceeds go toward autism. It’s been held in Jacksonville, FL and in Texas over the years. It’s a pretty big event and they are proud to be a part/sponsor of raising awareness of autism. So please, don’t get the wrong impression that these guys are monsters with no soul or heart. If you knew what I know as a listener, (and whose met them at an appearance once) you would see they are 2 guys who don’t try to be anything they aren’t. They are genuine people that, despite what this article tries to lean towards, do have hearts that reach further than their own families.
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What happened to freedom of speech? There is no way any entertainer to not offend someone. You all can also say what you want because of the same liberty we all have in America. Unless someone is directly bashing an individual, there is no foul. If you don’t like it, just listen to another station. For example: I don’t like Communists so I don’t buy things made in China or Vietnam.
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I’ll be upfront when I say I see alot of comments from parents of disabled and I sympathize with them but the argument is about speaking up for people who can’t speak for themselves well its time then we speak. I am disabled and have been since birth I did not find the Skit offensive or in anyway hurtful. Instead Im happy they did it for several reasons 1. They brought awareness to disabilities in the way comedians bring issues to the public in a non threatening and light hearted way 2. The people on the show also made people aware of what could happen if you do stupid stuff Helping others who were thinking about doing same type of things 3. The only people on the show wanted to be…I cant express enough the more we can find to laugh about ourselves the better off we are. when we cant see humor in situations we just become serious and get depressed. Im not saying that people shouldnt stick up for others but honestly the only ones that are hurting us are the ones that see us as diffrent and not equal the ones that get offended by small things such as this program dont focus on if our feelings are hurt we can do that ourseleves in one way or another instead focus on things that can actually help like more ramps elevators ect. Thank you for listening.
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Why would anyone listen to 94X when you have a better station on 95.7? Rock 96 clearly is better. I can pick it up in my car here in the west metro of the twin cities
It’s better than the crap big corporate radio stations we have here. I listen to Lex and Terry occasionally on 101.7 WHMH out of St. Cloud and really don’t see them as any worse than what KQ 92 does.
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