NYC-area people, PLJ this morning

[mbcdefg]

Do any of you NYC/NJ people listen to WPLJ radio in the morning? I turned it on during my commute this morning and they were in the middle of a long, serious conversation (unusual because it's a morning entertainment show with celebrity news and lame jokes and all that stuff) about the murder of Brendan Tevlin, a 19 year-old who was shot to death while in his car at a stoplight earlier this summer. The suspect, who's also suspected of other murders in South Jersey and in Seattle and was nabbed a few weeks after the killing, allegedly did it as a revenge kill for US military killings in the Middle East. There's also been some controversy over it because the initial police report said it was a "targeted" incident, leading many to speculate that the victim was in a drug deal gone bad or that he had a personal feud with whomever shot him.

The DJ is apparently making it his personal crusade to get the word out that this was an act of terrorism against an American citizen, since local news sources are apparently not covering this part at all. I wasn't following it too closely, and I shut it off after a while because the call-in audience kept talking about how we need to be vigilant with the 9/11 anniversary coming up, and why can't we say "God Bless America" anymore even though that's how our country was founded, and why aren't Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton speaking out against THIS person being killed, etc. etc. etc. I Googled it when I got to work and the only websites covering this besides the PLJ site are personal Facebook pages about Taking A Stand Against Terrorism, and some FreeRepublic forum about banishing all the Oh So Scary Muslins from the country.

Like I said, I didn't hear the beginning of the conversation or any explanation as to why this is such a personal thing for the DJ, plus the call-in and Internet comments are making me question just what the point of this is other than to stir people up.

Audio: www.plj.com/common/page.php?pt=brendan&id=31604&is_corp=0

[shoeaholic]

I did actually tune in just after they had described what had happened. I then googled it to find out more. It really is a sad and scary story and as we approach the anniversary of 9/11 would have hoped we would take these situations more seriously instead of trying to hide or bury the facts.

[mbcdefg]

The Star-Ledger has a story about the radio show: www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2014/09/radio_host_livingston_teens_murder_evidence_that_domestic_terrorism_is_already_here.html

He [Todd Pettengill, host of WPLJ’s “The Todd Show”] also chided the media for not bringing the story to the national stage, and focusing instead on other protests such as those in Ferguson, Mo., where an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, was shot to death by a police officer last month.

“If there was ever a reason to riot in the streets in the name of humanity it would for this case. But has that happened? No. And I’m not suggesting that it should,” he said.

Erm ...

[raangoli]

I follow the news closely and I hadn't heard about this at all. I am wondering, like you said, why the DJ is so charged up about this. It's a terrible thing that happened, there is no doubt about it. But are we sure these aren't just the claims of a raving lunatic? And to say that we need to be rioting in the streets? Should we do that for every random act of violence?

[cajunmom]

Sept 10, 2014 13:30:18 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

 and why can't we say "God Bless America" anymore even though that's how our country was founded,

Whenever someone says this, I instantly stop taking them seriously because clearly they don't have a firm grasp of American history.

[jerseyjaybird]

Sept 10, 2014 13:43:24 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

The Star-Ledger has a story about the radio show: www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2014/09/radio_host_livingston_teens_murder_evidence_that_domestic_terrorism_is_already_here.html

He [Todd Pettengill, host of WPLJ’s “The Todd Show”] also chided the media for not bringing the story to the national stage, and focusing instead on other protests such as those in Ferguson, Mo., where an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, was shot to death by a police officer last month.

“If there was ever a reason to riot in the streets in the name of humanity it would for this case. But has that happened? No. And I’m not suggesting that it should,” he said.

Erm ...

[justjen]

I did not hear this, but it's my general belief that Todd is kind of an asshole.

[mbcdefg]

Sept 10, 2014 13:45:37 GMT -5 raangoli said:

I follow the news closely and I hadn't heard about this at all. I am wondering, like you said, why the DJ is so charged up about this. It's a terrible thing that happened, there is no doubt about it. But are we sure these aren't just the claims of a raving lunatic? And to say that we need to be rioting in the streets? Should we do that for every random act of violence?

That's where I'm at, too. Of course this is a terrible situation, but I don't really know where he's going with this whole thing.

The comparison to Ferguson is just insane.

[shoeaholic]

I think in the context of the entire discussion it was more like - well everyone is worked up over Ferguson but doesn't know about this. I didn't get that he was dismissing the Ferguson issue, just comparing to say it got nothing in the media while Ferguson got tons. Again, I came In late to the discussion so I really don't know what set him off.

I also don't think it trumps or replaces the ferguson situation, that alone is a travesty and a big mess that needs to be fixed.

[jerseyjaybird]

Sept 10, 2014 14:00:25 GMT -5 shoeaholic said:

I think in the context of the entire discussion it was more like - well everyone is worked up over Ferguson but doesn't know about this. I didn't get that he was dismissing the Ferguson issue, just comparing to say it got nothing in the media while Ferguson got tons. Again, I came In late to the discussion so I really don't know what set him off.

I also don't think it trumps or replaces the ferguson situation, that alone is a travesty and a big mess that needs to be fixed.

I didn't hear any of the discussion, but, honestly, comparing this situation to Ferguson IS dismissing the latter (never mind ignoring how long it took the mainstream media to pick up that story . . . ) 

[shoeaholic]

Sept 10, 2014 14:08:10 GMT -5 jerseyjaybird said:

Sept 10, 2014 14:00:25 GMT -5 shoeaholic said:

I think in the context of the entire discussion it was more like - well everyone is worked up over Ferguson but doesn't know about this. I didn't get that he was dismissing the Ferguson issue, just comparing to say it got nothing in the media while Ferguson got tons. Again, I came In late to the discussion so I really don't know what set him off.

I also don't think it trumps or replaces the ferguson situation, that alone is a travesty and a big mess that needs to be fixed.

I didn't hear any of the discussion, but, honestly, comparing this situation to Ferguson IS dismissing the latter (never mind ignoring how long it took the mainstream media to pick up that story . . . ) 

I don't think it was a trump or replace, more of a comparison of what hits the news. And I agree there is no comparing when it comes to the underlying issues that the ferguson issue has brought to the forefront. I think the intention was let's bring this issue to the public awareness like the Ferguson case was. It's not saying it should be a bigger issue, just that it should be a concern to the public just as the Ferguson case was. Could he have used a better example? Yes, probably but I guess using a recent news event can drive home the point. Again, I don't see the attempt to diminish Ferguson, just raise awareness.

[v]

WPLJ still exists? That's one that I would have guessed would have rebranded by now...

One major plus of a public transit commute: you don't have to listen to morning radio shows

[cosmos]

I haven't listed to regular radio since I got XM.

[mbcdefg]

I have a few stations programmed and I just flip around looking for whoever's playing music. I've tried plugging in my iPhone but I'm too tempted to pick up the phone and skip songs even when I have a playlist so I prefer to just make do with whatever's on the radio. MH has XM because he likes Howard Stern but I've never wanted it for my car.

I've never really listened to morning radio shows. I spent a few minutes listening in today simply to figure out WTF they were talking about, and then shut it off when I realized they were going nowhere with it.

I put on 1010 WINS once in a while to hear the news.

[v]

Sept 10, 2014 15:37:06 GMT -5 cosmos said:

I haven't listed to regular radio since I got XM.

XM DJs (with the exception of the British First Wave Saturday Night Safety Dance guy) annoy me even more than any traditional radio DJ does.  Don't get me started on Madison!

But on the plus side, they seem to rarely get the mic for more than 30 seconds at a time

[msmerymac]

Sept 10, 2014 13:56:56 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

Sept 10, 2014 13:45:37 GMT -5 raangoli said:

I follow the news closely and I hadn't heard about this at all. I am wondering, like you said, why the DJ is so charged up about this. It's a terrible thing that happened, there is no doubt about it. But are we sure these aren't just the claims of a raving lunatic? And to say that we need to be rioting in the streets? Should we do that for every random act of violence?

That's where I'm at, too. Of course this is a terrible situation, but I don't really know where he's going with this whole thing.

The comparison to Ferguson is just insane.

ANY comparison to Ferguson is insane, because no other incident has put both the over-militarization of law enforcement departments AND the institutionalized racism present in LE and our justice system in such a harsh light.

But people who compare anything else to Ferguson are the kind of people who say, "but what about racism against WHITES?!"

[mbcdefg]

Sept 10, 2014 18:18:59 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Sept 10, 2014 13:56:56 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

That's where I'm at, too. Of course this is a terrible situation, but I don't really know where he's going with this whole thing.

The comparison to Ferguson is just insane.

ANY comparison to Ferguson is insane, because no other incident has put both the over-militarization of law enforcement departments AND the institutionalized racism present in LE and our justice system in such a harsh light.

But people who compare anything else to Ferguson are the kind of people who say, "but what about racism against WHITES?![\b]"

I don't really get what he's trying to get out of this. The community was outraged, and the suspect is in custody. Meanwhile there have been no charges in Ferguson and the community is still being harassed.

Re: racism against whites, I think the DJ even said as much while he was taking callers. I couldn't find it in the audio file but I could swear there was a point where he said, "If this had been a black kid killed it would've been all over the news." WUT.