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Saturday, March 19, 2011
Radio Station Pulls KKK Promos
By Rick Nathanson
Journal Staff Writer
KKOB-AM (770) on Friday ceased running station promos featuring state Sen. Eric Griego, D-Albuquerque, referring to the station as "KKKOB," a clear reference to the Ku Klux Klan.
The station, however, continues to run a video snippet on its website of Griego's remarks made on the floor of the state Senate last week, as well as the response from Sen. Rod Adair, R-Roswell, who admonished Griego.
Griego's comments were made late March 9 when the Senate was debating issues related to a bill to halt the practice of allowing illegal immigrants and other foreign nationals to obtain New Mexico driver's licenses.
For well over a week, Griego said Friday, KKOB-AM "had been having fun misinterpreting my position on those issues."
Griego, who supports a less restrictive compromise bill now being advanced, said that KKOB on-air program hosts Jim Villanucci and Bob Clark and their callers "have said some pretty extreme things about how immigrants should go back to Mexico, and calling them 'taco lovers,' and talking about 'those people' who are from 'that' side of town, which I represent. Just some really over-the-top stuff, but pretty usual for what you hear on those programs."
Griego's addition of a "K" to the station's call letters, he said, was a "totally tongue-in-cheek response to their weeklong criticism about me and my defense of my position on immigration and the driver's license bill."
Adair, however, immediately took Griego to task for what he said was an inappropriate reference.
Adair also scolded fellow members of the Senate, from whom there "was not one peep of refute by people who would stand and act as the guardians of self-righteousness on this floor," Adair is heard saying on the clip.
Griego's take on his fellow legislator's response was equally pointed: "Sen. Adair, who seldom misses an opportunity to be sanctimonious, lectured me and the body about the history of the KKK and why my comment was so offensive." At the same time, he noted, Adair's outrage did not extend to the mean-spirited comments broadcast over KKOB-AM and directed at Griego and foreign nationals.
Pat Allen, news director at KKOB-AM, said he was "disappointed" with Griego's KKK comment.
He added that he never heard Villanucci or Clark utter any anti-immigrant remarks, though he conceded that "all kinds of things come out of callers' mouths."
Pat Frisch, the station's program director, said the exchange on the floor of the Senate was no longer being used in promos simply because those run for about a week and are routinely replaced with something more timely. Video clips on the station's website tend to remain available longer.
Frisch also said that Griego had accepted an invitation to appear on Clark's morning show next Thursday at 9 a.m.
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