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Tv & Radio > News & Features Sunday September 24, 2006
Sad memories and bad taste
AIR RAVES BY ANTHONY THANASAYAN
AMERICANS – and the world – remembered 9-11 five years ago when terror attacks crumbled New York’s Twin Towers, crashed several passenger planes and wrecked part of the Pentagon in Washington D.C. In total, nearly 3,000 people died.
The mood was a sombre one for most on Sept 11 a fortnight ago, particularly from 8.30pm (Malaysia time) when the attacks occurred in the United States. For Americans, it was the morning rush hour.
On satellite television, CNN and BBC World carried live coverage of the 9-11 memorials that took place all across the United States. The US national anthem was played, the names of the 9-11 victims were read out and periods of silence were observed.
BBC World Service radio from London quoted the sober warning of US Vice President Dick Cheney from the Pentagon.
“Sept 11 has ceased to be an ordinary day on the calendar,” he said, and added, “much sacrifice lies ahead (for all Americans).”
The Voice Of America (VOA) broadcast from the US capital ran a feature called “Freedom Tower”, about a project to redevelop a seven-hectare area in Ground Zero.
Ground Zero is the name for where the site where the World Trade Centre's twin towers used to stand.
“Plans for Ground Zero” was a VOA Special English programme on the 15-minute This is America weekly slot. (Special English is simplified language read at a slower pace, intended for non-native English-speaking listeners as a learning aid.)
Listeners can download the show on their MP3 players or listen in through RealAudio facilities. Check out: www.voanews.com/specialenglish/
The exact time of the 9-11 anniversary wasn’t a prime item on our FM bands.
TraxxFM’s 9pm news made a fleeting mention of the occasion when it quoted our Prime Minister’s statement on terrorism.
The broadcaster did not update listeners on the many significant events that had transpired within the hour of the commemoration.
And then, a comment so insensitive was made that I could hardly believe my ears!
The male host of RedFM’s Urbanitez show at 8pm remarked that people who were remembering 9-11 shouldn’t wallow in self-pity.
And as if that wasn’t already a shocking statement to utter on such a sad day in history, he also made a tasteless remark about the late singer and actress Aaliyah, who died in a plane crash on Aug 25, also five years ago.
Upon learning of the tragedy from his female co-host, who mentioned it to listeners, the male deejay said, with a chuckle, that he was sad because “Aaliyah could’ve ended up as my wife.”
The deejay obviously thought that what he said was funny. Would he still be laughing, one wonders, if his friend or someone he loves was faced with a situation where they had to jump out of a tall building in order to avoid being burnt alive, or suffer a horrible death in an airplane crash?
Broadcasters must always be mindful of the things they say on the air.
Those who pick deejays must ensure that the kind of people they select must be – above all things else – mature and always sensitive to the feelings of their audience. They must be carefully trained and retrained regularly.
Callous remarks, even though meant “in jest”, should never be uttered. Things said at the wrong time – and without thinking – can put listeners off a radio station forever.
n Anthony Thanasayan, who was born disabled, is an avid radio listener. His work, training special dogs for the physically handicapped, has been featured on local and international radio. His dogs, he says, help him ‘stay in tune with life’. E-mail him at athanasayan@hotmail.com.
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