Polluting The Airwaves

Tom Barnard's KQRS (FM 92.5) morning show has been the top-rated program on Twin Cities radio for many years, easily outdistancing its nearest competitors. Its mix of tabloid news, conservative political commentary and sexual humor makes everyone else's show seem tame by comparison--and makes you hate yourself for listening.

Unfortunately, the "KQ Morning Crew" has managed to offend a few people along the way. They've made jokes in the past at the expense of Somalis and Asian-American citizens, and the station has always had to cover their behinds because of it.

Now it's the Native Americans' turn to be offended. On a recent broadcast, Barnard and company were discussing the suicide rate in Beltrami County in northern Minnesota, which is where the Red Lake Indian Reservation is located. Co-host Terri Traen, who normally plays the resident ditz on the show, made the suggestion that incest goes on at Red Lake. Then Barnard alleges that the Shakopee Mdewakaton Sioux tribe, which owns Mystic Lake Casino near the Twin Cities, didn't spend a dime to help the Red Lake band. What followed was much giggling and name-calling by Barnard's paid stooges.

In fact, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Shakopee band has given $4 million to the Red Lake tribe for, among other things, a new Boys and Girls Club and the restoration of fishing on the reservation. The Shakopee band also made headlines recently, giving $10 million to the University of Minnesota for naming rights to the area outside the new football stadium.

The two tribes, along with members of the American Indian Movement, protested outside the studios of KQRS in Minneapolis. They met with management, who promised them an on-air apology and the hiring of Native American interns, among other things. What they didn't get was having Barnard fired. That may not be enough, as the tribes are planning some kind of advertising boycott. Just like the one that got Don Imus fired from his radio and TV jobs for making racially insensitive comments.

One thing missing in the news coverage of the protest is that Mickey Mouse no longer has anything to do with KQRS. The Walt Disney Company sold off ABC Radio Networks and most of the stations it owned to Citadel Broadcasting a few months ago. KQRS, KXXR (93X) and the Love 105 stations were included in the sale, but Radio Disney (AM 1440) was not. It's just that the signs in front of the building hasn't been changed yet.

How Tom Barnard and company can be so offensive to minority groups and remain on the air is a mystery. So what does the huge ratings the 'KQ Morning Show" gets say about the people who listen? Are we as tolerant of other cultures as we say we are?