How Not to Handle a Controversy

Well, as expected, the big KSFO attempt to put a lid on the heaps of criticism they've received because of their ham-fisted manner of dealing with Spocko's complaints to their advertisers about the hate speech on their programs, didn't go quite a nicely as KSFO had hoped:

KSFO response to bloggers descends into name-calling
Brad Kava, Mercury News

It was a mostly one-sided gunfight on the media frontier Friday, as four hosts from the conservative talk radio station KSFO-AM (560) spent the better part of three hours name-calling, patting themselves on the back and shouting down the few callers from the other side who got through.

The unprecedented show from noon to 3 p.m. was convened by the San Francisco station in response to a campaign by liberal bloggers -- including one who goes by the name ``Spocko'' -- who sent recorded segments from the shows to advertisers, some that were offensive to Muslims and seemed to sanction violence against political opponents. . . .

There were some apparent contradictions about whether these hosts wanted to apologize or do battle. Morgan chided bloggers and media members for not seeing apologies she issued on her Web site. Yet, Rodgers repeatedly said they weren't apologizing for anything and warned that ``if you bite us, we will bite back.'' . . . . In the three hours, only a few dissenters made it onto the phone lines. One, a blogger from Virginia, made a few points before Rodgers cut him off in a slew of name-calling. . . .

They also accused the blogger, whose posts have now been distributed widely on the Internet and to advertisers, of threatening their livelihood, and that was something they wouldn't do. When someone suggested that Morgan did the same thing by calling for a boycott of Michael Moore's ``Fahrenheit 9/11,'' she argued it was different because the movie was ``filled with lies and deceit'' and added that she didn't say people ``can't go'' to the movie, ``but as conservatives, we have a right not to go.''

They repeatedly made fun of Spocko for using a made up name that didn't seem to fit an adult. No one mentioned their sidekick who goes by ``Officer Vic.''

Yeah, that worked.