Opinion

Column: Money trumps tribes in radio show dustup

Monday, April 21, 2008

"Sometimes, money and ratings speak louder than words.

So for better or worse, "Bob and the Showgram" was back on the air this week, despite what the host of the Triangle's No. 1 show facetiously called his "forced vacation" after a rant against Lumbee Indians.

Tribal leaders were dissatisfied with shock-jock Bob Dumas' three-day suspension for the April 1 incident, a 15-minute string of racist jokes that brought hundreds of complaints from across the state, including a complaint from Guilford Native American Association leaders.

But meeting this week with the general manager of Clear Channel's station, WDCG (G105), tribal officials found that they didn't have the clout to get Dumas fired, Don Imus-style, from his popular show.

"The program has been on for 16 years and generates mega-revenues," said Greg Richardson of the N.C. Commission of Indian Affairs. "They felt safe saying these things. But we're not just going to sit idly by and let people run all over us."

Dumas, who did not return phone messages, began his morning show April 1 by teasing a departing station intern about her impending marriage to a Lumbee. He derided Indians as "lazy" and made fun of Lumbees as all being racially "mixed up."

"We call it 'swirl,'" he drawled."

Get the Story:
Lorraine Ahearn: In Raleigh radio, money talks, but the Lumbee tribe balks (The Greensboro News-Record 4/18)