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David Hinckley (Daily News) on Banning of Spot by Boots
By DAVID HINCKLEY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2005
An organization planning a national series of anti-President Bush
protests today has blasted Emmis Radio for advising WQHT (97.1 FM) not
to run a paid ad for the cause and the events. Emmis, parent of WQHT,
says the spot was rejected because “ads of an ‘issue’ nature can be
highly controversial and the claims are often difficult to verify.”
The one-minute spot was cut by musician Boots Riley for a coalition
of progressive groups and individuals called The World Can’t Wait,
Drive Out the Bush Regime.
Promoting a noon rally in Union Square today, it says, “Bush made
torture into a sport and justifies it. … We all watched Bush leave
people to die in New Orleans. … This regime is what’s criminal.”
Group spokeswoman Sunsara Taylor says Hot-97 had agreed to run the ad
Monday,
but then “had a call from Emmis corporate telling them to kill it.”
Emmis spokeswoman Kate Snedeker says, “The Hot-97 sales team asked
for guidance from our legal department. While we do not have a firm
guideline against taking such ‘issue’ ads, we are indeed very cautious
and proceed carefully.
“Without listening to the spot, [our] legal [department] cautioned that
ads of an ‘issue’ nature can be highly controversial and the claims are
often difficult to verify. Based on that, the decision was made not to
accept the ad.”
Shorter spots on the organization and today’s planned actions have run on other radio stations, including Air America.
Among other things, The World Can’t Wait wants students and workers to
walk out this morning to join the rally, which precedes a march to
Times Square.
“We have to take back America from the radical right,” says Taylor. The
World Can’t Wait does have at least one sympathizer on the air at
Hot-97. Morning host Miss Jones, infuriated by the government’s lack of
response to Hurricane Katrina and other things, has a number of times
said she’d like to see Bush impeached.
PLAY THE BANNED AD EVERYWHERE
EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS BANS AD
NEW YORK’S HOT 97 STOPPED FROM PLAYING AD POISED TO REACH MILLIONS OF YOUTH
Minutes before its scheduled airing, Emmis Communications, owners of
Hot 97 in New York, pulled the plug on the World Can’t Wait, Drive Out
the Bush Regime Ad. Hot 97 is “the” number one rap station in this
city. The station itself had consciously approved the content of the
ad knowing that this was both controversial and important. For some
working inside the station, the idea of this spot reaching millions of
urban youth in New York at this critical time was inspiring. Emmis
Corporation’s legal department called Hot 97 just as the spots were to
begin to play.
The ad itself was a collaboration of artists Boots
Riley from the Coup and Miles Solay from Outernational. It can
break down walls. The spot can be downloaded at
http://www.worldcantwait.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=20&Itemid=33
Youth today have come of age under the gruesome shadow of the Bush
Regime. An entire generation has been betrayed, brutalized,
criminalized, enlisted, denied
reproductive rights. The US
Military saturates the youth “market” with slick high-tech ads aimed at
turning young people into cannon fodder and the Christian Right spends
millions to indoctrinate youth with politics of intolerance and
punishment.
We stand at this unprecedented time in
history. The energy and creativity of young people around the
country will take this movement to the level where it will be
unstoppable.
This cannot go down this way. Here is what you can do:
PLAY THE BANNED WORLD CAN’T WAIT AD TODAY before November 2nd. Send
this email to everyone you know in the media. Call in to local
radio stations, send to
place you think you can get this on the
air. Forward this to press contacts and get it posted prominently on
websites. Get dejays to talk about this on the air and announce it at
gigs. But most importantly PLAY THE SPOT – it says it all.
Call Ennis Communications at IR@emmis.com
or call (317) 266.0100, and let them know that their actions have only
given us one more reason to NOT WAIT on November 2nd. Demand that
they lift the ban immediately.
Call and email Hot 97 at (212) 229.9797, hot97@hot97.com. Tell them to take off the muzzle. Tell them they were right to approve the ad and they should play it now.
Then download the ad into your cel phones and ipods and play them everywhere.
Here are the words to the ad. You get the picture.
Hey, this is Boots Riley from The Coup.
The world can’t wait to drive out the Bush Regime.
November 2, no work, no school.
We gonna march. Join us. 12 noon at Union Square.
Come on, you seen the pictures.
Bush made torture into a sport and justifies it.
You saw Iraq destroyed by a war based on lies.
We all watched Bush leave people to die in New Orleans and treat people like criminals.
This regime is what’s criminal.
The Bush Regime is out to remake the world.
Unending war, a devastated environment, forced religion, no right to abortion, no dissent, no critical thought.
We have to stop this now. If we don’t we will be forced to accept it.
The future we get is up to us.
The beginning of the end of the Bush Regime starts Wednesday November 2.
Join us at 12 noon at Union Square.
Check it out www.worldcantwait.org or Call 866-973-4463