Corporate radio ignores teen's murder

The difference has never been clearer. 

After years of competing against corporate controlled radio stations I used to make the mistake of thinking I had seen it all.  Not anymore.

I love talk radio.  One of the reasons I make my living in this business is because I am a major consumer of it.  I love hearing a community get on the air and discuss and debate the issues affecting it.  Neighbors talking to neighbors.  Opinions being fired back and forth.  Political leaders being held accountable.  And, all of it available on the radio.  It's where communities come together.

Well, it used to be that way on most radio stations.  Not so much anymore.

I was frankly amazed today as ALL but one of Phoenix's talk radio stations completely ignored the story of an innocent teenage girl being brutally attacked and killed when her parents went out of town.  I know we're incredibly fortunate at KTAR-FM to have amazing resources and a huge news team, but the way the other stations in town turned a blind eye to this tragedy is thoroughly disappointing.

KTAR-FM was the only radio station with a reporter in Queen Creek yesterday when the mother of Amber Hess spoke about a body being found that was likely her daughter.  Not only that, but KTAR-FM was the only radio station that even bothered to GO to Queen Creek to cover the story in the last few days. 

Then, this morning, KTAR-FM broke the story of the two arrests in the murder.  It came through hard work by one of our star reporters, Jim Cross, who has pounded the pavement to get answers to questions everyone was asking about this story. 

And even when every media outlet in this town was alerted that the Pinal County Sheriff's Department and the parents of Amber Hess were holding a news conference at 11am today to talk about the dramatic developments, no other radio station even bothered to go to it live.  They didn't carry the news conference.  They didn't even interrupt their east-coast talk shows to tell the segment of this community that listens to them what had happened.  Many syndicated talk shows demand their affiliates never interrupt their shows.

As a journalist, a broadcaster, and a member of this community I'm ashamed. 

I don't regularly listen to stations other than KTAR-FM or KTAR-AM, but my guess is no other talk shows in this valley have even talked about this case.

Welcome to corporate controlled radio. 

The reason this situation has developed is not because talented people are absent from other media outlets on the radio.  It's because many stations now have corporations dictating how much they can talk about issues in their communities and issues that don't involve politics.

Listen to the talk stations on AM.  They now do NOTHING but politics.  How many people do you know whose lives revolve around NOTHING but politics?  Not many.  These stations know that, but the mandate has been given. 

No talk about the sexual predator lurking in the east valley attacking our kids.  No discussion of two 16-year-old monsters who killed an innocent girl in Queen Creek.  Back when the serial killers were hiding on our streets hunting victims, they didn't bother to discuss that story either.

Radio is about communities. 

Well, at least this station is.

Comments

[carol]

**********R.I.P. Amber LeAnn Hess**********

Russ, I just happened to come across your blog on the internet today. I want you to know that I love KTAR FM from the bottom of my heart! I called in several times to your radio station during the "Amber Hess" news. My daughter & I are the ones that put up flyers here in Queen Creek, trying to find Amber when she was first missing. I thank you for your courage as well as your radio personalities that covered her story. You did it with great tact, compassion and especially with total honesty. Kid is a wonderful person, and from what I read here, you really appreciated him... but not as much as Amber's family and close friends did. Some people just wanted the story to disappear, or let the family alone to grieve, but being as close to this as we (my family & I) are we appreciate the fact that you not only reported the news but you gave us all an opportunity as a community to discuss our fears and feelings in an open forum. In my own opinion, I believe that your radio station has helped to begin the healing after this horrible and senseless crime. My daughter and I found out from Amber's family that Amber was missing at 8pm on Sunday night and was told of the details of what Mike and Candy had come home to find in their home. Immediately my daughter & I began designing flyers and making plans to get them posted in our community so we could help bring Amber home. We got up early on Monday morning and began posting flyers in our community, still filled with hope in spite of that little voice inside of us that told us that something unspeakable had happened to Amber. We were faced with another harsh reality... there were businesses here in our own community that flat out refused to allow us to put up flyers to help to find Amber. As a result, I tell everyone of these business and ask them to boycott them, because I feel that if a business doesn’t have the heart to try to bring home someone’s missing child, then I do not have to support that business by shopping or spending my money there. Anyway, As you know, by late morning, what was believed to be Amber's burned body had been found in the desert not all that far from her home. By late afternoon my daughter had received a text from a one of Amber's family members telling her that indeed it was Amber that was found. Later on that evening, out of respect for Amber’s parents my daughter and I decided it best to go and remove the 200+ flyers we had just put up that morning with hopes of bringing Amber home alive. As we were taking down the flyers so that her parents would not be overwhelmed by them as they would surely be venturing out at some point in the next few days, our hearts were breaking, because earlier that morning our hearts had been so full of hope that we would find Amber and bring her home... possibly hurt or worse but at least alive. As we were taking down the flyers, we turned on your station to see if there had been any news updates about Amber. There we found that there was a debate going about Amber and the question was... Did the community think that it was okay for Amber to have been left home alone while her parents went to Rocky Point. My daughter and I were grateful to be able to call in and say our piece because we know the Hess family and knew Amber well. It was the hardest thing that my daughter and I have ever had to do to take down those flyers that we had just so recently put up with all of that hope that there would be a happy ending to her story. By being able to state our piece and share the heartbreak that we were feeling with the entire city as well as our immediate community that was feeling the pain of this horrible crime, helped us both through the first hours of this unspeakable tragedy that hit so close to home. A few days later, driving home from Mesa, I turned on the radio to find that Kid Stevens on KTAR was out near Amber's home holding a fundraiser for Amber's family. I was overwhelmed and called in again to Thank Kid and the station for not just letting this be another crime that everyone just wants to forget about because it hurts too much to be reminded of. I ended up driving to the site that Kid was broadcasting live from just to give him a hug and shed a tear with him so that he would know that what he and your station was doing was the right thing. I know that Mike and Candy were listening to the broadcast and have expressed gratitude for the way that your station handled this story... how you made it more than just a story... how you made it personal and helped everyone to know who Amber was as a person and not just a victim. Mike and Candy are in my prayers everyday and always will be... you, Kid and the other hosts and people that worked behind the scenes that helped a community & family to understand, deal with and express their feelings and be able to give back a little during such a tragedy when no other radio stations or even TV stations would or could... will also be in my prayers as well. May God Bless all of you and your families there at KTAR that were involved with your coverage of this case. Keep up the good work, no matter how controversial the topic may be.

Sincerely,
Carol
Thanks again for giving me a place to air my feelings. I am still... & feel that I always will be deeply affected by this painful tragedy and it makes dealing with it a littler easier to know that others, outside of her family of course, are still affected by it too.

[John Roman III]

July 27
Just found you. Kudos and amen. Odessy, Cumulus and Cox. Those three owners have taken a heritage LOCAL news-talk AM which enjoyed a 14 share in the Stamford-Norwalk, Ct. market - beating every NYC station - down to the lowest rating of anything on the dial here. 30 years as a news and program director were good; SOLD OUT - no time slots available - had to make time for PSA's - no PI's; a LOCAL news-sports staff with a 300-hour a week payroll; LIVE SPONSORED LOCAL sports and event coverage; LIVE LOCAL programming from 5:AM to 9:PM - all gone. The station went from being the one all other media followed to day-and-a-half old voicers of rewrites from local papers. One version, repeated every 15 min. No re-writes, no follow-ups. Sad! Enjoy it while you have it. Corporate radio really is a gross disservice which too many 20-somethings accept in blissful ignorance.

[Alethia]

My only source of news is KTAR, so I had no idea that other local stations neglected this tragic story. I've been disgusted, for some time, at the "local news" and it's inability to actually provide the news to people. I am disgusted by their 5 minutes (or less) of local news stories; and (maybe) 15 - 30 seconds of world news. It's pathetic. How about their segments like: "how to meet a guy in phoenix" and other similiar stuff - what a waste of time when much more important things are going on.

And yes... the serial rapist in Chandler is not getting enough attention to help capture him. He's raping little girls for God's sake! I wish people would demand more informative news instead of remaining blissfully ignorant as to what is REALLY going on in our cities.

[Roger]

Condoleces to the Family.

It is a sad time in Queen Creek, but it is a sad time all across Arizona it seems these days. I pray that it wasn't my own or someone I knew.

It isn't corporate news though. There are so many things happening, so many murders that go unsolved that its just nice to hear that something was solved in such a timely manner. There is no Corporate outcry because it doesn't effect any Corporations.

Now if you were wake up and say "Hey African Americans The Government just stole 150,000 of your votes, DO YOU CARE. Now thats Late Breaking because Caging is against the law.

Now If you were to wake up and Blog the fact that the Immigration Nationality Act Bill that was just attempted to pass looked more like Hitlers final attack on the citizens of his country by sabotaging the
Justice Department. Then to turn everything that is free in America over to the "Secretary of Homeland Security." Is Theft by Deception as it would have eliminated all other branches of the Government. That effects Corporations, especially the pockets of private contractors pockets because people would get wind to the reality of Biometric Cards, US ID Cards, Surveillance Systems, Unmanned Aircrafts over their backyards (100 miles within a foreign border), New Detention Centers, lets not forget those Club Med places that we all want to visit loved ones. Yes even the ones that you didn't know was an immigrant, and not just your neighbor for the last 10 years.

So I have to say Mr. Programmer what a Joke. Now let that family rest, mourn and move on and stop making money off of their recordings of pain.

Now that Late Breaking News!

[JShope]

Kudos for recognizing and displaying great talent with Darrell Ankarlo and Ted Simons. KTAR is truly a great station.

I just want to know where Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are, following this tragedy.

[mallard]

I absolutly agree. I do have a long history of journalism in a previous life.
The mother of the victim's interview did not only move me but made me cry as well.
I am very happy to have moved to Phoenix and found this station. KTAR does some amazing things in it's efforts to enlight and entertain. Ankarlo's trip to Mexico is another example. I truly see some well deserved awards in KTAR's future and not because of the status quo yellow journalism, but because this station truly shows it cares about the people it serves.
Thanks! Good or bad, you show honesty and respect.

[Bob Walters]

Kudos to KTAR. Covering the important news in the valley as it happens with live reports is a value to the listeners. While others follow stories based on the 5's, 9's or some other number if covered at all giving just a sound bite or two. Also I commend KTAR for their mobile message service. Being busy today I was not really listening to the radio and received a mobile message alerting me to the press conference before it went on so I was able to make sure that I had it on at the time it was aired. Perfect. Thanks KTAR keep being the leader in the radio community that you have become.