Hip-hop station to ban offensive music
Apr 19, 2007 13:34:26 GMT -5
Post by tico on Apr 19, 2007 13:34:26 GMT -5
What would be left for them to play?
Hot 97.7 will ditch offensive music
By Jim Salter
The Associated Press
And LaRaye Brown
laraye.brown@clarionleger.com
A St. Louis company that operates four TV stations and a hip-hop radio station said it is banning programming and music lyrics it deems violent, sexist and racist.
Among the stations owned by Roberts Broadcasting Cos. LLC are CW affliate WRBJ-Channel 35 and WRBJ 97.7-FM, a hip-hop station, both located in Jackson.
"I am announcing, effective immediately, that music degrading women and other members of our community will no longer be played on Hot 97.7, WRBJ-FM," Michael V. Roberts Sr., the company's chairman and CEO said in a Wednesday letter to employees. "The rule applies to all broadcasting operations owned by my brother Steven and me."
The decision by the black-owned company comes less than a week after shock jock Don Imus was fired by CBS Radio for calling members of the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos."
Fallout from the incident renewed debate about lyrics of many rap and hip-hop songs that are racially charged and derogatory toward women. The Rev. Al Sharpton has called entertainment the next battleground after Imus.
Rather than simply censoring offensive words in songs, "we're going to ban them altogether, which is a hard move for a hip-hop station," Roberts spokeswoman Keesha Dhaene said. If it's offensive in any way toward women, toward African Americans, it's not going to be played on Hot 97.7."
Terrill Weiss, general manger for Roberts' TV and radio stations in Jackson, said the staff is reviewing its playlist and will begin changing music. It's unclear which songs won't make the cut. In some cases, the station may ask record labels for cleaner versions, Weiss said.
"There's probably a higher incidence of derogatory language in general in hip-hop music because it's a language of the street," Weiss said. "It reflects life, and their art involves a lot of language that could be deemed objectionable."
Weiss met with the staff Wednesday morning to discuss the changes.
"I don't know what their true feelings are, but I can tell the face they put on was that they thought it was probably appropriate and timely and that it was going to be a little bit of a challenge for us to figure this thing out, but they understood it and are committed to it," Weiss said.
This won't be the first time the station has tampered with its playlist. In the fall, it began playing "softer" music between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. It continued to play newer music between 7 p.m. and midnight.
Hot 97.7 is one of two Jackson radio stations whose format is largely hip-hop. The program director for WJMI 99.7-FM could not be reached Wednesday evening.
Roberts' announcement comes after the company invested $1 million to physically upgrade Hot 97.7, a move that has helped improve its signal. It also falls when the company planned to review its format. Roberts Broadcasting acquired Hot 97.7 in the fall, and licensure was finalized in February.
"We've been discussing (a format change) for a while, from a business standpoint, not from a creative standpoint," Weiss said. "We have not made any decisions about it, but this will probably bring a little more scrutiny to that decision."
The Roberts brothers operate a multifaceted business that includes an aviation company, shopping centers, hotels, construction firms and residential developments. Other television stations in the Roberts' broadcasting unit are WRBU-Channel 46 in St. Louis, WZRB-Channel 47 in Columbia, S.C., and WAZE-Channel 19 in Evansville, Ind.
"We take tremendous pride in being African American and refuse to let anyone, white or black, strip us of that pride," said Steven Roberts, president and chief operating officer of the company.
The lineup on the Roberts' four TV stations could eventually be affected, but not immediately, Dhaene said. All of the stations except the one in St. Louis are affiliates of the CW network. The St. Louis station is an affiliate of MyNetworkTV.
"We will begin screening syndicated episodes more closely," Dhaene said. The stations will not censor network programming, but Dhaene said the company never has received complaints about network shows.
Hot 97.7 will ditch offensive music
By Jim Salter
The Associated Press
And LaRaye Brown
laraye.brown@clarionleger.com
A St. Louis company that operates four TV stations and a hip-hop radio station said it is banning programming and music lyrics it deems violent, sexist and racist.
Among the stations owned by Roberts Broadcasting Cos. LLC are CW affliate WRBJ-Channel 35 and WRBJ 97.7-FM, a hip-hop station, both located in Jackson.
"I am announcing, effective immediately, that music degrading women and other members of our community will no longer be played on Hot 97.7, WRBJ-FM," Michael V. Roberts Sr., the company's chairman and CEO said in a Wednesday letter to employees. "The rule applies to all broadcasting operations owned by my brother Steven and me."
The decision by the black-owned company comes less than a week after shock jock Don Imus was fired by CBS Radio for calling members of the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos."
Fallout from the incident renewed debate about lyrics of many rap and hip-hop songs that are racially charged and derogatory toward women. The Rev. Al Sharpton has called entertainment the next battleground after Imus.
Rather than simply censoring offensive words in songs, "we're going to ban them altogether, which is a hard move for a hip-hop station," Roberts spokeswoman Keesha Dhaene said. If it's offensive in any way toward women, toward African Americans, it's not going to be played on Hot 97.7."
Terrill Weiss, general manger for Roberts' TV and radio stations in Jackson, said the staff is reviewing its playlist and will begin changing music. It's unclear which songs won't make the cut. In some cases, the station may ask record labels for cleaner versions, Weiss said.
"There's probably a higher incidence of derogatory language in general in hip-hop music because it's a language of the street," Weiss said. "It reflects life, and their art involves a lot of language that could be deemed objectionable."
Weiss met with the staff Wednesday morning to discuss the changes.
"I don't know what their true feelings are, but I can tell the face they put on was that they thought it was probably appropriate and timely and that it was going to be a little bit of a challenge for us to figure this thing out, but they understood it and are committed to it," Weiss said.
This won't be the first time the station has tampered with its playlist. In the fall, it began playing "softer" music between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. It continued to play newer music between 7 p.m. and midnight.
Hot 97.7 is one of two Jackson radio stations whose format is largely hip-hop. The program director for WJMI 99.7-FM could not be reached Wednesday evening.
Roberts' announcement comes after the company invested $1 million to physically upgrade Hot 97.7, a move that has helped improve its signal. It also falls when the company planned to review its format. Roberts Broadcasting acquired Hot 97.7 in the fall, and licensure was finalized in February.
"We've been discussing (a format change) for a while, from a business standpoint, not from a creative standpoint," Weiss said. "We have not made any decisions about it, but this will probably bring a little more scrutiny to that decision."
The Roberts brothers operate a multifaceted business that includes an aviation company, shopping centers, hotels, construction firms and residential developments. Other television stations in the Roberts' broadcasting unit are WRBU-Channel 46 in St. Louis, WZRB-Channel 47 in Columbia, S.C., and WAZE-Channel 19 in Evansville, Ind.
"We take tremendous pride in being African American and refuse to let anyone, white or black, strip us of that pride," said Steven Roberts, president and chief operating officer of the company.
The lineup on the Roberts' four TV stations could eventually be affected, but not immediately, Dhaene said. All of the stations except the one in St. Louis are affiliates of the CW network. The St. Louis station is an affiliate of MyNetworkTV.
"We will begin screening syndicated episodes more closely," Dhaene said. The stations will not censor network programming, but Dhaene said the company never has received complaints about network shows.
Pure BS