College Radio Vs. The Gipper



The following story brings a tear to my eye, if only because the Reagan presidency helped usher in, however unwittingly, some of U.S. college radio's finest years. Oh for the days when every other song title or band name was something analogous to The Reagan Cocksuckers or The Dead Reagan Fuckers. Harder to pull that off these days, what with Clear Channel being the new college radio.

From the Associated Press :

A disc jockey at a university radio station who turned a Sunday radio show into a "celebration" that Ronald Reagan "was finally dead" has been suspended.

The disc jockey, a University of Alaska Fairbanks undergraduate who goes by the call name "Spider Bui," said his show was a reaction to the media's positive portrayal of Reagan after his death Saturday.

Managers at KSUA-FM said the show was in poor taste and was put on without permission.

Neither the student nor station staff would reveal the student's real name. No tape of the show was available.

According to the disc jockey, he berated Reagan for his foreign policy in Latin America, Iraq and Afghanistan, and for what the student called a "homophobic" response to the AIDS epidemic.

"I said that I was sick of all of the media that was glorifying Reagan and rewriting history that was pretty despicable," he said. "Basically, what the gist of the show was, it was a celebration that Ronald Reagan was dead, was finally dead."

He said he played requests such as "These Boots Are Made For Walking" and told listeners he wanted to "walk over the newly laid dirt" on Reagan's grave. One listener said the disc jockey advocated urinating on Reagan's grave, but the student said he does not remember saying that.

The show generated numerous complaints, KSUA program director Chip Brookes said.

"Regardless of how you feel about [Reagan] or what he did ... we can all agree on a certain boundary of poor taste," Brookes told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Station officials said the disc jockey has been suspended pending an investigation, and that further action could be taken.

Brookes that the student was working as a fill-in disc jockey and was supposed to play a prerecorded show.

"No one wants to censor anybody," Brookes said. "At the same time, we feel like this particular individual sort of abused a position of trust we put him in."

For a more considered view of Ronald Reagan's legacy, check out Jimmy Breslin's Newsday column from this past Friday.

Posted: Sun - June 13, 2004 at 10:16 AM      

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