UPDATE: McDonald’s Is 10th Company to Pull KRXQ Advertising
June 5, 2009
GLAAD just posted a recap of its activity relating to KRXQ and its offensive comments against transgender children. The summary also included a statement from AT&T announcing their decision to pull its advertising from the radio station. You can find all of that plus recent media coverage here.
Minutes after posting our recap, I received an email from McDonald’s at 9:17pm EST. Soon after I spoke with a member of the McDonald’s Public Relations team who wanted us to post and distribute their statement.
McDonald’s wrote:
McDonald’s has a proud legacy of diversity and inclusion. The views expressed by the hosts are not consistent with our core values.
As such, we are in the process of withdrawing advertising from KRXQ until further notice.
McDonald’s USA LLC, Pacific Sierra Region
The global fast food chain now becomes the tenth company to either retract or to not renew its advertising contract with KRXQ.
The entire listing of companies include:
- Chipotle
- Snapple
- Sonic
- Bank of America
- Verizon
- Carl’s Jr (CKE Restaurants)
- Wells Fargo
- Nissan North America
- AT&T
- McDonald’s
We continue urging people to voice their concerns with the radio station. Information can be found here.
Stay tuned for more details. Please check back with us for updates on this developing story.
Have an update to share with GLAAD? Send us a tweet on our Twitter account @glaad.
UPDATE: Nissan Won’t Renew KRXQ Advertising Contract
June 5, 2009
On May 28, KRXQ radio hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States spent more than 30 minutes making dehumanizing and defamatory comments against transgender children. You can listen to the original broadcast here since it appears the audio is no longer available on radio show’s website.
Seven companies have confirmed they pulled their advertising contracts with KRXQ or will not renew in the future as a result of offensive comments made by the two shock jocks. Another company has decided to step forward and release a statement on the incident.
At 5:10pm, I received a phone call from Nissan North America. I spoke with the Director of Corporate Communications who wanted to provide GLAAD with the following statement on their advertising with KRXQ.
Nissan North America’s statement reads:
Nissan does not support the views expressed during the May 28th broadcast on the Rob, Arnie and Dawn in the Morning show on KRXQ.
Our advertising purchase with this show ended June 1 and we will not renew it.
Currently the list of companies no longer advertising on KRXQ includes:
- Chipotle
- Snapple
- Sonic
- Bank of America
- Verizon
- Carl’s Jr (CKE Restaurants)
- Wells Fargo
- Nissan North America
Please check back with us for more developments on this story.
Have an update to share with GLAAD? Send us a tweet on our Twitter account @glaad.
UPDATE: Wells Fargo Stands By Transgender Community
June 5, 2009
Today, GLAAD has received confirmations from three different companies pulling their advertising contracts from KRXQ. Bank of America, Verizon and Carl’s Jr have all publicly issued statements (here and here) that announced the pulling of their advertisements on the radio station as a result of the offensive comments made by radio hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States.
At 4:51pm EST, Wells Fargo reached out to GLAAD about KRXQ. Apparently, the radio station had placed Wells Fargo’s logo on their website leading people to believe they were current KRXQ advertisers.
Wells Fargo provided the following statement to GLAAD on the issue:
Thank you for your message. We appreciate your feedback and take such matters seriously.
We are strongly committed to equality for all and we do not tolerate discrimination. When we learned of the inappropriate comments made during the May 28th KXRQ broadcast we immediately removed our logo from the radio station’s Web site.
Wells Fargo was not an advertiser on the May 28 broadcast, is not currently advertising with KXRQ, and has not done so for more than a year.
We’re proud of our commitment of supporting many organizations that serve our diverse communities – which is consistent with our company values.
We very much appreciate your comments.
Diversity is at the core of Wells Fargo’s vision and values and Wells Fargo is honored to be on DiversityInc Magazine’s Top 50 list for 2009.
Thank you for taking the time to bring this matter to our attention.
Wells Fargo Communications
The list of companies no longer advertising on KRXQ includes:
- Chipotle
- Snapple
- Sonic
- Bank of America
- Verizon
- Carl’s Jr (CKE Restaurants)
- Wells Fargo
Please check back with us for more developments on this story.
Have an update to share with GLAAD? Send us a tweet on our Twitter account @glaad.
UPDATE: Bank of America Becomes Fourth Company to Pull Advertising on KRXQ
June 5, 2009
At 12:55pm EST, Bank of America provided GLAAD with a statement announcing their decision to discontinue advertising on KRXQ.
In their statement, Bank of America wrote:
In response to your inquiry, I would like to express our thoughts to you regarding Bank of America’s decision to discontinue advertising on the station and show in question.
Bank of America is proud to be a leader in supporting diversity and continues to be widely recognized for our progressive workplace practices and initiatives to promote inclusion. This commitment to equality and diversity informs every aspect of our enterprise, including our approach to advertising. As a result, we adhere to a set of media buying guidelines for syndicated programming and for local stations that promote inclusion and help our company reach a broad range of diverse customers.Bank of America prides itself on fostering a corporate culture that is inclusive of all the communities we serve. Our customers, clients and associates speak different languages; support different family structures and life situations; and have unique and personal financial requirements. In order to meet the diverse needs of our customers, we require a variety of products and services, marketing and a diverse workforce that demonstrate and reflect our awareness and appreciation of who our clients and customers are.
We hope the immediate actions that we have taken demonstrate our longstanding support of diversity, and we hope you inform members of your organization of the steps that we have taken to address your concerns.
Thank you for your inquiry and bringing this to our attention.
Bank of America is now the fourth company to pull their advertising after Sonic, Snapple and Chipotle. You can read more about that here.
KRXQ is continuing to receive scrutiny due to the May 28th “Rob, Arnie and Dawn in the Morning” show radio segment where radio hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States made offensive comments against transgender children. You can listen to the segment here.
Later, they aired a follow-up broadcast that you can listen to here and read GLAAD’s response here.
GLAAD is still encouraging its constituents to contact KRXQ and respectfully voice your concerns about the defamatory and dehumanizing comments made by the radio hosts. Please read our Call to Action here.
Please check back with us for more developments on this story.
Have an update to share with GLAAD? Send us a tweet on our Twitter account @glaad.
Related Coverage:
UPDATE: Snapple, Sonic & Chipotle Pull Advertising From KRXQ
June 4, 2009
In the wake of KRXQ radio hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States not apologizing for their offensive comments against transgender children, individuals continue to take action and share their concerns with the station.
You can listen to last week’s segment here and their follow-up to the controversy here.
On June 2, GLAAD issued a Call to Action and today renewed its call for supporters to let KRXQ know that Rob and Arnie should apologize for their remarks. We have also been blogging about this story (here and here).
Business leaders have also become alarmed by last week’s defamatory radio segment and are distancing themselves from the shock jocks and their dehumanizing remarks. Individuals are utilizing social networking tools like Facebook to voice their concerns and alert companies of the harmful diatribe.
At 1:33pm, I received an email from the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. The company is responsible for well, Dr. Pepper and Snapple along with 40+ brands including 7UP, Country Time, Crush, Hawaiian Punch, Mott’s, Orangina, Welch’s and Yoo-hoo.
Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Inc gave us the following statement to share with our supporters:
We found the segment to be offensive and as a result, we are pulling our Snapple advertising from the station.
Thanks again for bringing this to our attention.
As far as we know, the beverage company now becomes the second business to pull its advertising from KRXQ as a result of last week’s defamatory and dehumanizing comments against transgender children made by radio hosts Rob and Arnie.
The popular restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill was the first to announce pulling their advertising contract from the station.
Please continue to check back for updates on this developing story.
—————
UPDATE:
At 4:00pm EST, GLAAD spoke with SONIC Corp, the largest chain of drive-in restaurants in the country. SONIC confirmed they pulled all of their advertising from KRXQ as a result of the offensive comments made on the “Rob, Arnie and Dawn in the Morning” show during their May 28 radio segment.
SONIC provided GLAAD with the following statement at 4:45pm EST:
Sonic wants to assure you that the views of this station are in no way related to the views of Sonic. Sonic was alerted to the May 28th segment only yesterday and immediately began researching the segment, show and Sonic’s planned advertising on the station. SONIC in no way condones violence toward children and does not wish to be associated with media content that condones or promotes such activity in any way. We have decided to immediately withdraw advertising from this station and have notified the station of our decision.
SONIC now joins Snapple and Chipotle in their removal of advertising on KRXQ.
Please check back with us for more developments on this story.
Have an update to share with GLAAD? Send us a tweet on our Twitter account @glaad.
KRXQ Radio Hosts Rob and Arnie Sweep Anti-Trans Namecalling Under the Rug
June 4, 2009
On Tuesday, we issued a Call to Action demanding that KRXQ radio hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States apologize for encouraging violence against transgender children. We also posted a blog update about the initial results from alerting our consitutents and media about the defamatory radio segment.
Reporters and outlets decided to cover the developing story including The Sacramento Bee, Instinct (here and here), The Huffington Post and FOX 40.
In a FOX 40 phone interview, KRXQ station manager Jim Fox responded to our Call to Action.He said:
Did they do anything wrong? If you’re a regular listener, the answer is no.
Hundreds of emails from our supporters poured into KRXQ from the United States and around the world demanding for Williams and States to issue an apology for their offensive comments. As a result, General Manager John Geary alerted us the hosts would issue a response on Wednesday morning in the 7:00am PST hour.
On the evening of Tuesday, June 2, GLAAD spoke with radio host Dawn Rossi. Director of National News Cindi Creager and Senior Media Strategist Andy Marra shared key information about the transgender community in preparation for their scheduled response. GLAAD also connected the radio host with Pam’s House Blend contributor Autumn Sandeen and Trans Youth Family Allies Executive Director Kim Pearson.
Chipotle Mexican Grill
Additionally, GLAAD’s President Neil Giuliano was also directly contacted by a Chipotle Mexican Grill executive in the same evening to inform us the popular restaurant chain pulled their advertising support from the station. Having heard concerns from customers about the issue, they decided to take immediate action that cost KRXQ a year-long contract.
GLAAD staff monitored Wednesday’s response that lasted for almost 3 hours. The Rob, Arnie and Dawn in the Morning show has posted the show in its entirety and can be listened to on their website.
In Wednesday’s response, Rob Williams said at 12:16:
This show has a strong, unwavering, unblemished, untarnished dedication and commitment to battling for children and against children being harmed in any way. For years, we did a feature called ‘The Silence Epidemic’ when nobody talked about children being left alone in hot cars. To bake to death and their parents not being in any way held accountable. We discussed child abuse at levels that no other show would talk about.
The Hosts
He also goes on to state:
Everyone that listens to this show, everyone that’s even aware of this show, knows that we have an underlying tone: You don’t hurt kids! That’s understood. But when you’re having a serious conversation, sometimes you need to what we call ‘release the pressure valve.’ That’s what Arnie’s role on the show is. To make a point and release some of the pressure and let people laugh.
He closed his point of clarification by saying:
I’m sorry that you might find it funny — or I’m sorry that you might not find it funny that some people laugh when Arnie — who does not have a child — talks about throwing a shoe at his non-existent son. You know what? Some people do laugh and they know we’re not serious, that Arnie’s not serious and we don’t advocate for it.
While it was heartening for us to hear that Rob Williams and Arnie States did not advocate for violence against children, they also did not hold themselves accountable for their dehumanizing and defamatory words used to describe transgender children in last week’s show.
You can listen to all of last week’s show here.
GLSEN Harsh Realities
In Wednesday’s show, Williams and States missed the mark when it came to how name calling and bullying can negatively impact transgender youth. In a groundbreaking report titled, Harsh Realities: The Experiences of Transgender Youth in Our Nation’s Schools by our friends at the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), nearly 9 out of 10 transgender students experienced verbal harassment at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation and gender expression. More than half were found to have experienced physical harassment.
Approximately 65% of transgender students reported feeling unsafe in their school because of their gender expression.
Most disturbing is that close to 40% of transgender students heard school staff make negative comments about someone’s gender expression (39%) sometimes, often or frequently in the past year.
It is the very reason why GLAAD commends radio host Dawn Rossi for clearly defending transgender people and the damaging impact that namecalling can especially have on transgender people. Even when in the minority, Rossi was an ally and spoke about the devastating impact namecalling can have on transgender children and how verbal harassment can contribute to a hostile climate and potentially lead to physical harm.
However, GLAAD remains disappointed in the fact that Rob Williams and Arnie States did not apologize for their egregious remarks from last week that dehumanized transgender children.
In a follow-up story by The Sacramento Bee, GLAAD issued the following statement:
While we appreciate hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States clarifying that
they do not advocate violence against children, they ultimately failed
to take responsibility for using dehumanizing and defamatory words to
describe transgender children on last week’s show.
We applaud host Dawn Rossi for articulating respect for transgender
people and acknowledging that defamatory words like those used last week
by her co-hosts help contribute to a hostile climate that continues to
place transgender youth at risk for bullying, harassment and violence.
We will continue asking our constituents to voice their concerns in a
respectful manner about last week’s remarks and urging Williams and
States to use their radio platform responsibly on future broadcasts.
GLAAD urges readers to continue contacting KRXQ. Let them know that dehumanizing and defamatory remarks against transgender children are offensive and not acceptable.
Please refer to our original Call to Action for further information.
You can contact the following KRXQ radio hosts and general manager at the following info:
John Geary
Vice President & General Manager
KRXQ-FM
(916) 339-4209
jgeary@entercom.com
Arnie States
On Air Personality
KRXQ-FM
(916) 334-7777
rad@robarnieanddawn.com
Rob Williams
On Air Personality
KRXQ-FM
(916) 334-7777
rwilliams@entercom.com
Please remember, when contacting KRXQ, ensure that your emails and phone calls are civil and respectful and do not engage in any kind of name-calling or abusive behavior.
Keep checking back for further updates on this developing story.
Sacramento Based Radio Hosts Defame, Advocate Violence Against Transgender Children
June 1, 2009
GLAAD is currently working with the Trans Youth Family Allies to respond to a highly defamatory radio broadcast on KRXQ-FM in Sacramento, California on May 28.
In a long tirade on the Rob, Arnie & Dawn in the Morning radio show, heard in Sacramento, California on KRXQ 98.5FM, hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States verbally attacked transgender children when discussing a recent story about a transgender child and her parents’ decision to support her transition in Omaha, NE.
Hosts of the show Rob Arnie & Dawn
The two hosts spent more than 30 minutes making highly derogatory comments about transgender children and promoting child abuse as a so-called “cure” for their gender identity.
GLAAD has reached out to KRXQ management to communicate our serious concerns and demand an apology. We are waiting for their reply.
We’ll have much more information on the incident tomorrow, so please check back for updates. In the meantime if you’d like to voice your concerns please reach out to these contacts:
John Geary
Vice President & General Manager
KRXQ-FM
(916) 339-4209
jgeary@entercom.com
Arnie States
On Air Personality
KRXQ-FM
(916) 334-7777
rad@robarnieanddawn.com
Rob Williams
On Air Personality
KRXQ-FM
(916) 334-7777
rwilliams@entercom.com
When contacting KRXQ , please ensure that your emails and phone calls are civil and respectful and do not engage in the kind of name-calling or abusive behavior that we are expressing our concerns about.
