WTVN Officials Apologize for Words

Talk-radio's plan to give away trip to Phoenix seen as insensitive

Saturday, June 12, 2010 02:50 AM
By Encarnacion Pyle
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

A local talk-radio station has apologized for insensitive language it used to promote a giveaway of a trip to Phoenix after Columbus' mayor suspended city travel to Arizona to protest a new immigration law, city and community representatives say.

Columbus officials said WTVN (610 AM) pledged this week to work with the city to build better community relations after the controversial promotion.

The apology reportedly came on-air last week and during a meeting with community leaders on Tuesday. The promotion, which ran in May, characterized Phoenix as a city "where Americans are proud and illegals are scared." It also suggested that the winner could spend the weekend "chasing aliens."

The giveaway offended many advocacy groups, including Reform Immigration for America, which held a news conference denouncing the promotion.

Jose Luis Mas, chairman of the Ohio Hispanic Coalition, said he's pleased that WTVN admitted a mistake.

"It was a lame attempt at humor at the expense of a vulnerable community," Mas said.

Mike Elliott, program director at WTVN, didn't return several phone calls.

Officials with the radio station and its parent company, Clear Channel Communications, met with community representatives this week to hash out their concerns, said Napoleon Bell, executive director of Columbus' Community Relations Committee.

He said in an e-mail that the commission sent a letter to WTVN this week expressing its "condemnation of the language used in the promotion."

When the controversy first erupted, Elliott said the company did not plan to apologize and disagreed that the promotion contained racial overtones. He said the contest was created to capitalize on the debate kicked up by Mayor Michael B. Coleman's travel restriction last month.

Although the incident divided the community, Mas said, it should be celebrated as a learning opportunity.

"I think a lot of people misunderstand the challenges facing immigrants," Mas said.

epyle@dispatch.com