Toler, Ellis vote to quit radio call-in program
Raffenburg claims move made in retaliation for station standing up for him
From our weekly issue dated April 16, 2008
Commissioners Dave Toler (left) and Jim Raffenburg square off. (Photo by Illinois Valley News)
Radio listeners who for the past two decades have come to expect to hear their Josephine County commissioners on Grants Pass Radio Station KAJO will be disappointed to learn that the board has voted 2-1 to suspend its participation in the monthly call-in talk show.
Board Chairman Dave Toler introduced a letter addressed to the station for the board’s consideration Friday morning, April 11 during a regular administrative meeting in the county courthouse.
The letter cited “recent editorials and developments,” as well as an alleged “affiliation” with NewsWithViews.com as indicative of the station’s “lack of objectivity toward local government.”The letter concludes: “The Board expresses our sincere appreciation for the years of opportunity you have provided us to interact with our citizens on KAJO. Our decision to suspend participation in your show is effective immediately.”
Commissioner Dwight Ellis expressed his agreement with the letter.
“I feel that these meetings have been a waste of my time,” he said. “I’ve had constituents of mine attempt to call the station for the past three months, and not be able to get in. Yet the same (few callers) somehow manage to get in and rant and rave about their same issues. I‘ve got better things to do than answer the same question over and over again.”
Later that afternoon by telephone, Toler explained: “Being on that program is an inconvenience that would be worthwhile if there were a broader spectrum of participants. (The program’s callers) absolutely have the right to say whatever they want, but it’s entertainment, it’s a talk show; this is not about access to news media.”
Click here to learn more about how you can tell us what you think
Carl Wilson, KAJO CFO and talk show host, disagreed with that assessment. Speaking by telephone during the weekend, Wilson stated that he considered the commissioner’s monthly visit to the studio newsworthy.
“Our listeners have developed an expectation over the past 20 years that they could access their county commissioners through the program,” he stated.”
He added that calling in to the show is not very difficult. “There are minutes at a time when the phones aren’t ringing,” he said. “If anyone’s particular supporters wanted to phone they could get on.”
Wilson stated that the station’s relationship with NewsWithViews.com is a business arrangement.
“I consider them a reliable vendor, and they have put us in touch with guests we might otherwise have had a hard time contacting. We also cross-promote” through mutual links on the Internet, Wilson noted.
“I’ve not really had any differences with this board,” he said, “but it’s an interesting position for those of us who have served the community for 50 years to be attacked by a sitting panel because we aren’t functioning like a rubber stamp.”
During the board’s discussion of the letter, Commissioner Jim Raffenburg stated: “I think the timing of this is tragic for the people of this county and a very bad idea for the board.
“I think it’s an outrageous proposition and an attempt to actually censor the news, to control what happens.”
Toler replied that he understood that Raffenburg would not agree with the letter, given the support he has enjoyed from KAJO. But he reiterated that he thought objectivity had been lost.
Advertisement:
“With other media I think we just feel like they cover both sides,” Toler said.
Raffenburg indicated that he felt his fellow commissioners were retaliating by cutting off KAJO by providing him a platform from which he could defend himself against recent articles printed in the Grants Pass Daily Courier questioning his background and experience.
Ellis replied: “I don’t mind when you defend yourself, but when the media casts dispersions about me and my character, and my issues …” Raffenburg interrupted with, “Welcome to my world, Commissioner Ellis!”
Ellis stated that if the station’s owners wanted to discuss a change to the program format, he would consider returning.
Grants Pass resident Ward Ockenden objected strenuously to the direction the board was headed.
“The only hope we have in this town is KAJO Radio,” said Ockenden, questioning the veracity of recent articles in the daily paper. “When you look at (the daily newspaper’s) agenda, it’s not for us.
“Thank goodness we have KAJO Radio to give us another side. We have to have these people and if you stop this, it’s wrong. It’s censorship.”
Ockenden appealed to the board to consider rewriting the letter to ask if KAJO would look at the issue before the board made any changes. Rather than answer, Toler asked if Ockenden would include NewsWithViews.com in the list of media organizations for which he is grateful.
“I do, because we need that other side.” Ockenden replied. “We know where your side is, and your agenda is so extreme. You’re taking control of this commission. Dave, it’s all about you. It’s about you all the way through.”
“This isn’t about me,” Toler began, “it’s about the citizens of the county…” He was interrupted by some sarcastic remarks from KAJO news director and former Illinois Valley News reporter Scott Jorgensen.
Noting testily that he was not going to be permitted to finish speaking, Toler called for a motion.
The motion to sign and send the letter passed 2-1, with Raffenburg “absolutely, positively opposed.”
Jorgensen later characterized the move as (horse manure). “The wording of this letter is disturbing,” Jorgensen said, “but it affirms that Dave is trying to destroy the opposition. His true colors are shining through.”
