Radio show employees fired

[jidar]

Following up the previous story, the employees were fired.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6164262.html

Wii-contest radio station fires 10 staff
KDND 107.9's Morning Rave off air indefinitely after the death of a woman in a water-drinking competition.
By Emma Boyes, GameSpot UK
Posted Jan 17, 2007 5:56 am CT

A California radio station has fired 10 employees, including five on-air personalities, after Jennifer Strange, a mother of three, died following her participation in a "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" competition, reports the Sacramento Bee. The 28-year-old died of water intoxication, having consumed an estimated two gallons of water in an attempt to win a Nintendo console for her children. The winner of the contest was to be the person who managed to drink the most water without going to the bathroom.

Strange called into her office after the show and told a coworker that she had a "really bad" headache and would be going straight home. She was found dead in her Rancho Cordova home on Friday afternoon by her mother, who had gone to check on her after being contacted by the concerned coworker.

The DJs had made comments joking about people dying from water intoxication during the show, according to the Sacramento Bee. There was even a discussion about a "poor kid in college"--presumably Matthew Carrington, who also died from water intoxication after a fraternity hazing ritual. One person dismissed the link by saying, "Yeah, well, he was doing other things." During the show, one DJ also admitted, "Maybe we should have researched this."

Two hours into the contest, a female caller, who identified herself as Eva, phoned in to warn the radio station that drinking too much water can kill. She said, "Those people that are drinking all that water can get sick and possibly die from water intoxication." One DJ replied, "We are aware of that," while another added, "They signed releases, so we're not responsible. It's OK."

Twenty contestants took part in the competition, including Strange, who was the runner-up. Other participants said that they became concerned when one woman lay on the ground, with her teeth chattering, and looking pale. At one point Strange was lying on the ground but told staff that she "could probably drink more" if someone could pick her up.

Despite the sackings, the Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness said that there would not be a criminal investigation. He said, "It's not as if she was somehow in their custody and they had a role to care for her. Rather, it was an invitation to a contest that was clearly ill-advised. She was exercising her free will."

A notice on the radio station's Web site stated that an investigation was underway. It reads, "First and foremost, our thoughts and sympathies go out to Jennifer's family and loved ones. I also want to assure you that the circumstances regarding this matter are being examined as thoroughly as possible. We are doing everything we can to deal with this difficult situation in a manner that is both respectful and responsible."

Wow. Just wow. How stupid are these people? All of that warning and they continued.

[Simplex3]

Originally Posted by luv

I think she paid the price, don't you? I agree that the station/employees should be charged with something. They obviously knowingly put people into harm's way, and someone died as a result.

In that case every bartender and cocktail waitress in the US is screwed.

[Simplex3]

Originally Posted by memyselfI

Of course she did. But then she wasn't the only one who was endangered. It was whomever was in the contest and continuing after the DJs were notified of the possible dangers. THEY were the ones in charge of the contest. It was THEIR responsibility to ensure the safety of the participants or CANCEL their promo after they became aware of the danger.

YOU are so full of SHIT that its UNBELIEVABLE.

[Simplex3]

Originally Posted by memyselfI

the point is there ARE a NUMBER OF PEOPLE out there who will do something foolish, ANYTHING, in order to get their hands on one of these systems so they can either feel better about themselves or delude themselves into thinking their kids will feel better about them.

...and there is no possible way for us to protect people this stupid from even a fraction of the stupid thing they can do.

[WilliamTheIrish]

There is no way a waiver is going to keep a person/entity from getting sued for gross negligence.

I think that Entercom (the ownership in question) probably has a team of lawyers that could defend them (the company and the individuals) from a deep pockets law suit/jail term.

As usual, it will depend on the laws of the state of California.

However, just moving up and down the dial, you can see that Entercom hires some really horrific DJ's.

Who knows?

[Frazod]

Sometimes stupidity is lethal.

[KChiefer]

I don't think it's fair to call this woman stupid for doing this. It's not common knowledge that drinking too much water will kill you. If they had asked her to drink drano, I doubt she would have done it. While she caused her own death by participating, so did the DJs by their negligent behavior. I know this isn't France, but do you know they have laws against not helping someone that you know is in harms way? IMO, that's a noble law and wouldn't allow ppl to get away with crap like this.

Do we know that the contestants were warned they could die before the contest started?

Do we know if they heard the callers saying they could die?

I haven't read too much about all that happened, but I haven't yet seen a definitive "yes" to either of those questions.

I know the answer to this question:
Are the DJs ****ing Sick Bastards for mocking comments about the potential for death, and thus, do they deserve more than being fired? Yes!


When Darrent Williams died, anyone that suggested(while not mocking), "hanging around thugs was a bad idea" was vilified and deemed totally heartless/disrespectful. I don't want to try to find who said what over the DW death, but ppls silence over the mocking of this woman's death says enough.

[big nasty kcnut]

Well this goes under the heading when contest goes bad. They should of done it better.

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by KChiefer

I don't think it's fair to call this woman stupid for doing this. It's not common knowledge that drinking too much water will kill you. If they had asked her to drink drano, I doubt she would have done it. While she caused her own death by participating, so did the DJs by their negligent behavior. I know this isn't France, but do you know they have laws against not helping someone that you know is in harms way? IMO, that's a noble law and wouldn't allow ppl to get away with crap like this.

Do we know that the contestants were warned they could die before the contest started?

Do we know if they heard the callers saying they could die?

I haven't read too much about all that happened, but I haven't yet seen a definitive "yes" to either of those questions.

I know the answer to this question:
Are the DJs ****ing Sick Bastards for mocking comments about the potential for death, and thus, do they deserve more than being fired? Yes!


When Darrent Williams died, anyone that suggested(while not mocking), "hanging around thugs was a bad idea" was vilified and deemed totally heartless/disrespectful. I don't want to try to find who said what over the DW death, but ppls silence over the mocking of this woman's death says enough.

Great post KChiefer from Chambana, i agree with every word of it. I cant begin to imagine the heartbreak of the 3 little kids either, sad beyond words.

[RJ]

The waiver this woman signed in no way absolves the radio station of legal responsibility. That sounds crazy but let me give you an example from the industry I work in.

A carpet company sells a job to an auto dealership, carpet to be installed in their very busy showroom. The carpet dealer urges the car dealership manager to buy a carpet designed for heavy traffic areas. The dealership manager has a budget to work with and the appropriate product is way over that budget. He opts for an inferior but lower priced item. He is advised against his choice but proceeds. When the order is written the carpet dealer makes multiple notations in the contract that the product is not recommended for the application.

Some time later the carpet looks like hell. The car dealer complains, the carpet dealer tells them to pound sand. The matter goes to court and the judge rules in favor of the car dealer. Why? Because the onus was on the carpet dealer as the expert in the matter. The carpet dealer, in that instance, should have walked away from the job according to the judge.

Opinion I - That waiver ain't gonna mean shit when it gets to court.

Opinion II - A radio station is a business and businesses are meant to make money. Causing illness or death to your customers (listeners) is probably a bad idea. No matter what you think about the dead woman, surely you'd admit that the manager of that station was asleep at the wheel. Part of a manager's job is keeping his company out of situations with potential liability, the manager of that station failed badly.