Kerry Campaign Snubs One of Biggest Radio Stations on Earth

Democrats in Self-Destruct Mode CCXLVII

Midwest Conservative Journal tells the story, yesterday. (Ellipses and emphasis in original.)

Nice work, John. Blow off one of the most important radio stations in the Midwest:

The John Kerry campaign came to St. Louis Saturday evening... and seemed a bit confused. The Democratic hopeful appeared at a tightly-guarded rally in Forest Park to talk about his plan to create jobs. KMOX Reporter Molly Hyland was on the scene but found Kerry campaign aides had decided that only television reporters could interview the candidate. Kerry's campaign aide said she had never heard of KMOX and would not allow an interview. The Kerry campaign did arrange for the senator to call KMOX by phone earlier in the day... but that, too, fell through. The call never came. Saturday night, the Kerry campaign phone lines were closed; its spokesmen out of reach.

Stephen Green explains what KMOX is and why this may be a whole lot more than a mere gaffe:

Summer of '88, I was privileged enough to nab an internship at KMOX-1120. For three months, I played unpaid radio reporter, from 6pm-3am, Thursday through Sunday — in addition to my 9-5 weekday job. A union shop, I couldn't go on the air, but I did everything else a reporter does.

Why was I willing to work such dreadful hours for no pay? Because KMOX is a CBS-owned, 50,000 watt clear channel AM news/sports/talk station. "Clear channel" in KMOX's case doesn't mean the dreaded conglomerate. It means that nobody else in the country shares their position on the dial — and 50,000 watts means they have listeners from Canada to Texas, and from Indiana to Colorado.

There aren't many stations like KMOX in the country, and an internship there is quite an honor. The next year, when I moved to California, just having their call letters on my otherwise unimpressive resume was enough to land me my first paid radio job.

KMOX was home of Jack Buck, the fabled sportscaster, "the voice of the Cardinals." It's where Harry Carey got his start. KMOX has been around for 70 years, and will be around for at least 70 more.

Jeffersonian comments:

I just came home from work listening to KMOX and the host, McGraw Milhaven, was all over Kerry for this gaffe. To make matters even worse, the reporter Kerry's droids snubbed was Bob Hyland's daughter.

Bob Hyland, for those who don't know, ran KMOX for many years and is a legend around St. Louis. And Brian Noggle reports that KMOX and a good many people around here let John have it:

KMOX also mentioned on the air that the audience jeered the aides and the Secret Service whenever they asked who KMOX was and what kind of radio station it is. It's the biggest radio station in the market. It has been for decades. Thanks for stopping by in your layover between real work.

Great staff you've got there, John. Really on top of things.

UPDATE: And it isn't just prominent Midwestern radio stations:

I attended the March 27 John Kerry rally at the World's Fair Pavilion in Forest Park, where I found the only place in the U.S. where there was no awareness of the Americans With Disabilities law.

Since the event was sponsored by the Missouri Democratic Party, I assumed I would be welcomed in my wheelchair. What I found was a hostile environment from the event organizers toward people in wheelchairs.

I arrived one hour before the event was scheduled to be open. We were not allowed to pass through the security screening on the level entrance to the pavilion, but rather had to negotiate our chairs down five steps to get in line. Then all 300 pounds of me had to be carried up more than ten steps into the event area, where I was able to hear Kerry speak but could not see him because of all the people standing in front of me.

I also found no curb cuts approaching the pavilion from Hampton Avenue, and found all the sidewalks had potholes. Several times, I had to get out of the chair before proceeding. Why did everyone in wheelchairs have this same experience at a park with such historic value and which is supposedly a source of pride to residents?

David Depker
St. Louis

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Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Wed. 03/31/04 08:35:42 PM
Categorized as Democrats in Self-Destruct Mode & John Kerry.