ESPN Radio’s Mark Madden Fired for Derogatory Ted Kennedy Remarks

The recent news of Senator Ted Kennedy’s brain tumor has saddened his many followers and drawn sympathy from both sides of the aisle. However, ESPN Radio 1250 host Mark Madden lost his job due to having a far less favorable reaction. Madden commented earlier last week that he hoped Kennedy would have lived “long enough to be assassinated.” For that remark, ESPN canceled Madden’s show and fired him from the network, though he remains under contract for now. The level of Madden’s comments against Kennedy is shocking at this time and place, but other radio hosts often get in trouble for worse or almost as worse comments just like Madden did.

This past April, a progressive radio host got in trouble for derogatory comments about Hillary Clinton. Air America radio host Randi Rhodes made a speech at an event in San Francisco where she called Clinton and Clinton supporter Geraldine Ferraro “f—ing whores.” Rhodes comments were not on the air, having been made while addressing Ferraro’s controversial comments about Obama getting favorable treatment because of race. However, when word of Rhodes’s name calling got out, Rhodes was suspended by Air America. Unlike Madden, Rhodes was not fired right away, but the subsequent disputes with Air America led her to leave the station and move her show to Nova M Radio.

Just a few weeks ago, WYSP in Philadelphia fired morning host Kidd Chris not for inappropriate comments, but for an inappropriate song parody. On March 21 and 24, Kidd had an in studio guest named Lady Gash perform a parody song called “Schwoogies” to the tune of Blondie’s hit song “Call Me.” The parody drew ire to frequent uses of the word “coloreds” and other racist lyrics. Kidd’s PD John Cook was also fired. Though the parody aired in March, it took over a month for Kidd and Cook to be fired, which was less quick than Madden’s punishment.

What is deemed to be inappropriate on American radio, like with Madden, may be different in other countries, however. In Great Britain, a radio host was fired not for vulgar comments, but for showing political bias. James Whale, a radio host for Britain’s Talksport station, urged listeners on March 20 to vote for conservative candidate Boris Johnson in London’s upcoming mayoral election. Under the rules of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code, London radio hosts cannot show any political bias for a party before an election. Whale had spent 13 years working for Talksport since the station launched in 1995.

Sources

The Pittsburgh Channel- “ESPN’s Mark Madden ‘Permanently Removed’ From Air” www.thepittsburghchannel.com/sports/16408949/detail.html

The Raw Story- “Air America’a Randi Rhodes said suspended for calling Clinton, Ferarro ‘whores'” rawstory.com/news/2008/Air_Americas_Randi_Rhodes_said_suspended_0403.html

Radio Online- “CBS Ousts WYSP Morning Host Kidd Chris, PD Cook” news.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/$rol.exe/headline_id=n17966

BBC News- “Radio host James Whale is sacked” news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7385370.stm