News May 21, 2007 JOINT STATEMENT - CBS Radio Case 80-20 Initiative, Inc. After a nationwide campaign by civil rights groups from across the country pertaining to The Dog House program at WFNY 92.3 Free FM, CBS Radio yesterday disclosed that the two hosts of the program, Jeff Vandergrift and Dan Lay, and their producer, will no longer be working for CBS and its affiliates. This case should have alerted the media that programs with such racist and sexist content will not be tolerated and that racial discrimination and sexual harassment must be stopped! We welcome the decision of CBS Radio. In fact, we initiated a joint statement to CBS Radio on April 24 with our complaint and demands, and they immediately contacted us for a meeting reflecting their good attitude. We also applaud the good efforts of our east coast leaders especially Organization of Chinese Americans. This case illustrates the importance of determination and unity in the Asian community. We sincerely thank every individual and every organization that has contributed to this nationwide campaign, especially the Chinese media. All the groups in this joint statement and many others including Committee 100 and National Organization for Women, have indeed worked hard to contribute much, especially with the petition of which over 10,000 signatures were generated in just 4 days. We encourage Asian Americans to continue monitoring radio programs, TV shows, etc., to ensure that similar serious problem does not occur again. Otherwise, please contact any of our organizations and we will work together to solve the problem for the betterment of our society. Our organizations are committed to helping our society especially the Asian American community. |