
Ted Douglass, Daria Eliuk,
Mitch Elliott
"I've been crying all day," KRSK (105.1 "The Buzz") host Daria Eliuk told us in an email Friday, "mostly because my beloved late Stepfather, a First Amendment activist, would be rolling over in his grave. I feel like I'm in The Twilight Zone."
Friday was the third anniversary for the team of Daria, Mitch Elliott and producer Ted Douglass on The Afternoon Buzz, but that day's show was anything but celebratory. The first two hours were spent reading an email from Program Director Mike Peterson and getting choked up, while the last two hours were only music, as Daria said she didn't know how to do the show while being censored.
Peterson, who came to KRSK from Chicago in October, congratulated the hosts on their ratings success in the email, but also demanded that all swearing — including words like "damn" and "hell" — stop immediately. The idea, he said, was to keep people from tuning out and to avoid an image of being "vulgar." That way, with content that was more "streamlined," the station could attract a larger number of listeners.
Language restrictions beyond FCC regulations aren't uncommon in radio. At KKCW (103.3 "K103"), the soft rock station that's #1 in Portland's ratings, morning host John Erickson says, "We keep it clean for the moms listening with kids in the back seat."
But should all stations have the same limits, or would that mainstream all the fun out of radio? Over 100 listeners who have taken to the show's Facebook page want the show to stay as it is. They've even started their own group, "Let 'em swear, Mr. Peterson!" "If you all are effing EDITED and consistantly worried that you may offend people," one commenter writes, "there is NOT going to be a show worth listening too!" That sentiment was representative of many.
Alex Demers of Demers Programming, which consulted the station when it was "Earth 105" in the '90s, says the streamlining of content is about "maintaining the appropriate balance. It all comes down to knowing your audience and meeting their expectations. In a country where the favorite ice cream flavor is STILL vanilla, can you really ever be 'too safe?'"
But another Facebook commenter writes, "I have a 5 year old [...] And I have NO problems with him listening to y'all. Some of the songs are iffy - but never you guys!"
That comment highlights an apparent dichotomy between some of The Buzz's songs and what Peterson's email allows the station's personalities to say. The All-American Rejects' "Gives You Hell," for example, is in regular rotation on the station. That song repeats "hell" 29 times and "damn" three times.
"A listener might not be offended by something in a song," Demers says, "but they might be offended if the same word is used by a personality. It's a tough call."
Peterson didn't respond to voicemails and an email requesting comment today, but after the protestations of listeners and his station's own talent on the air, the rules on swearing seem to have relaxed considerably. "We just had a huge long meeting with all the bosses and it seems to be kind of a non-issue now," Daria tells us this afternoon. "It's been amended to, 'Please don't say asshole.'"
The Afternoon Buzz team was back on the air today, opening with a TV clip about pooping the bed.
More: Wondering just how potty-mouthed Daria is? She's no shock jock, but here's an example of how certain words might enter the conversation, from her popular segment, "Daria's Entertainment Guide."
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