Dave Letterman's writers outdid themselves Wednesday night, October 29.
Here was the bit. It's a close-up shot of a cab driver. He is complaining about having a broken headlight. As the camera pulls back, it reveals he has run over and killed a cyclist. He continues to lament breaking his headlight.
The audience loved it. Peals of laughter rose from them.
DJs in three cities, all on Clear Channel Broadcasting-owned stations, were admonished for having just a great, ol', fun-time suggesting their listeners run down cyclists. That resulted in a letter writing campaign.
If you think to write the Letterman show, here's the address:
The Late Show
Ed Sullivan Theater
1697 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
The show's producer is Barbara Diamond. Her phone number is: (212) 975-4734
Why you might write Dave Letterman a letter
Many of the folks there are the letter-writers who responded to the Clear Channel incidents. It would help spread the word as far as possible, what with Letterman having such a huge national audience (far greater than any single-city Clear Channel station). Thanks.
IMHO the Letterman routine sounds incredibly funny!
That is not at all the same as DJ's egging listeners on to run over cyclists.
"I didn't see the Letterman piece, but it sounds like the writers were trying to make a good point - ""look at the big picture, don't take some guy's spin as the truth."""
"Nice to see this gathering some momentum.
Bicyclists Accuse DJs of Inciting Attacks
Sat Nov 1, 1:08 PM ET Add Top Stories - AP to My Yahoo!
By CONNIE MABIN, Associated Press Writer
CLEVELAND - Bicyclists are demanding that the nation's largest radio group be punished because disc jockeys at three stations made on-air comments they say encouraged drivers to throw bottles at bike riders or hit them with open car doors.
They say the morning show hosts at Clear Channel Communications stations in Cleveland, Houston and Raleigh, N.C., also suggested motorists blast horns at cyclists, and speed past them and slam on their brakes in front of them.
""DJs encouraging the masses to hurt people in any form is insipid, and should not go unpunished,"" said Edwin D. Reeves, 30, a cyclist and ceramic engineer in St. Louis.
Clear Channel, based in San Antonio, owns roughly 1,200 radio stations in the United States.
The company won't release transcripts or tapes of the broadcasts, but the three stations apologized on the air and Clear Channel donated $10,000 and air time to promote bicycle safety.
""We deeply regret that comments made by on-air personalities were misinterpreted. Clear Channel does not condone violence in any form and we are committed to working with the cycling community to improve cycling safety,"" chief executive John Hogan said in a statement.
Clear Channel, which said it was coincidental that similar comments came from three stations, said it told the stations to refer questions to corporate headquarters. It wouldn't say if the disc jockeys were disciplined.
The comments started June 30 on WMJI in Cleveland when one of the morning show personalities complained that a group of bicyclists had held him up in traffic near his home.
""The other guys started chiming in,"" said listener Don Barnett, service manager at Century Cycles in Medina. ""Then it escalated. People started calling in.""
Similar remarks came weeks later on WDCG-FM in Raleigh and KLOL-FM in Houston.
Lois Cowan, 42, who owns the Century Cycles shops in the Cleveland area, filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (news - web sites) asking it to fine the company or take away the licenses of the three stations.
""They shouldn't be advocating things that kill people,"" Cowan said.
She says she's received more than 5,000 e-mails from cyclists about the issue.
Dorothy Nance of Raleigh said she and her husband sold their Clear Channel stock after she heard the bicycle comments on WDCG on Sept. 22.
Nance said the announcers were ""egging listeners on, by encouraging harm to cyclists."" Suggestions included throwing soft drink bottles, she said.
Thomas F. Valone, owner of seven outdoor clothing and equipment stores in North Carolina, pulled ""a few thousand dollars"" worth of advertising from the Raleigh station because of the comments.
FCC (news - web sites) lawyers refuse to comment on specific complaints.
""We got a complaint about that and we are acting on that,"" FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell told the cyclists.
"
