Your Anaheim Angels of Anaheim have jumped onto The John and Ken Show bandwagon . . . that's bound for “Off the Air.”
Sí, señor, owner Arte Moreno flexed that Aztlanista muscle under the bicep sleeve of his red Halos polo, using it to yank Angels advertising from KFI's controversial afternoon rush-hour program.
See also:
KFI's John and Ken Show Face Boycott by Latino Groups
ESPN on Why Angels Owner Arte Moreno Isn't an Aztlanista or a Vendido
John Kobylt of KFI's John and Ken Show on Santa Ana: “No Longer Part of the United States”
The Angels, who have more Latins in their lineup than the Four Seasons dishwashing crew, granted a request from the nonprofit National Hispanic Medical Coalition (NHMC), which for months has mounted the “Take John and Ken Off the Air” campaign. The shock jocks have for years been harshly critical of immigration laws, policies and enforcement. How critical? They once opined Santa Ana is no longer part of the United States, which must have come as a shock to those darkening the halls of the Ronald Reagan federal building there.
“The campaign . . . comprised of over 40 national and local organizations, has been educating advertisers on the numerous offenses shock jocks, John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou, have committed against the Los Angeles communities,” reads a NHMC statement. “The victories come at a significant time when hate speech, bullying and negative media portrayals are under public scrutiny.”
Last month, the LA-based organization “released the results of a national poll showing that media portrayals of Latinos and immigrants are fueling rampant negative stereotypes among non-Latinos,” reports NHMC.
Joining the Angels as the latest to say vaya con Diós to John and Ken is the University of Redlands, a private institution of higher learning in the Inland Empire city. For those unfamiliar with UofR, if you've ever driven through San Bernardino and wondered who could possibly live there, the neighborhoods around the university is where the owners of the businesses that laid off those people reside.
“We applaud Angels Baseball and the University of Redlands for joining the list of responsible companies who understand that hate radio is not good business,” Alex Nogales, NHMC president and CEO, says in the statement. “Time and time again John and Ken have used hate to boost their ratings, and they do so at the expense of vulnerable communities. Advertisers must understand that supporting shock jocks that promote hate sends the wrong message to all communities and jeopardizes the Latino consumer who now represents one trillion dollars in purchasing power.”
The group, which has been pressuring Clear Channel to drop The John and Ken Show for about a year, boasts that nearly 50 former advertisers have abanoned the program.
But perhaps the Angels' slight will come up Oct. 18, when The John and Ken Show carries water for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Emken, the No on Prop 30 campaign and Yes on Prop 32. They'll be broadcasting live from the Ayres Hotel in Anaheim from 3 to 7 p.m.
Wear your red, Halos fans!
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.