Who's To Blame: The Radio or You?

The Garden of Eden

Radio contests have been a staple in the industry ever since the 1930's, when contestants would have dance-a-thons to all of the hippest records, all-the-while fighting their exhaustion to win the measliest of measly prizes. The winner? Who can boogie the longest, of course - a stoic test of endurance. As history repeats itself, the listening public has adhered to this type of fanatical radio behavior since the golden eras of hoop skirts and cardigans, with intentions ranging from desire for free merchandise to the thirst for the spotlight to the actual need for the prize at hand. The exchange is simple: disc jockeys are given promotional items from companies who recognize this type of inexpensive product exposure, and radio stations offer their listeners an opportunity to win that product by engaging in risk-taking acts. The stations inevitably gain more listeners by offering programming that dazzles with excitement and unpredictability, and the cycle is conveniently set into motion when the audience swallows the somewhat mindless entertainment.

But what about the mishaps, you ask? Radio stations sponsor on-air contests for freebies every day, but listeners barely hear about accidents when they occur. A recent and much publicized example of the opposite is the case of Jennifer Lea Strange, a 28-year-old mother of three who participated in a contest called "Hold Your Wee For A Wii," which took place on January 12, 2007. The competition was held by the Morning Rave program on KDND, or "The Edge," which operates out of Sacramento, California, and was based on a simple premise: 17 to 20 contestants were forced to imbibe as much water as they possibly could, and whoever held in the water the longest would win a Nintendo Wii. While the competition seemed potentially harmless in itself, Strange complained of headaches on the air, and soon after winning the contest and returning to her home, she was discovered dead on her bathroom floor by her mother, having succumbed to water intoxication.

The results of her death have taken the form of radio targeting. The station immediately held its staff accountable and fired the entire morning crew, and the family of Strange is now both threatening to sue the station and encouraging the FCC to revoke the station's license for the incident. Also, audio from the contest has been posted on YouTube, making the contest publicly available and - like any widely accessible media - open for criticism and analysis from those who happen upon the material. Upon listening to the clip from the show, listeners began to voice their opinions by writing over 300 letters to the station, which were divided into two basic categories. One of the overall attitudes was rooted in the idea that the station was fully accountable for her actions by subjecting Strange and the others to self-torture, fully knowledgeable of the dangers of drinking massive volumes of water. The other opinion was that Strange was fully aware of the consequences that could result from her actions, and that as an adult, she was responsible for participating in such an event, not the station that made her do it.

In essence, this type of debate reverts back to the ancient example of Eve in the Garden of Eden, but in a radio context. Eve had been told not to eat from the tree of knowledge, but the snake in the Garden made it alluring by declaring that God purposely did not want her to possess his knowledge. Eve knew there would be consequences, yet she ate the fruit regardless. Was Eve to blame for wishing to have the wisdom of God, or was it the snake for tricking her into doing it? In this modern-day context, the station acted as the snake that enticed people with a gift (that was considerably less significant than all of the knowledge in the world), and Strange played the character of Eve. While a biblical comparison may be a bit drastic in such a situation, this example shows that since ancient times, there has been no clear definition of who is the culprit and the victim in the circumstances.

But just like how the snake was forever cursed to roam the earth on its belly and bite at the ankles of humans, the radio station is now being punished in the same way. Except in addition to this specific station suffering for their involvement in the death of an innocent woman, the whole radio industry may feel the consequential reverberations. The Strange family is appealing to the FCC to enforce legislation that would limit the capabilities of radio stations to hold contests, and as a result of this type of restriction, talk and morning radio programs may lose their appeal to a good portion of listeners. As cheeky and unimportant as those contests may seem to the general populous, many radio listeners are drawn in by the thrill and excitement of situations that do not involve them, and with television as an alternative with a visual counterpart, listeners may lose interest in radio altogether.

So the resolution can take several forms in preventing legislation that may put a damper on the entire industry. Radio stations do not want to lose the freedom to hold contests on the air, and listeners do not want to tune in to programming that is devoid of them. As a solution, the FCC is going to have to make decisions that will affect the future of radio programming. What the FCC should do is to specifically punish KDND for their involvement in the situation by either taking them completely off of the air or heavily fining them, but it should be done as an example. Other radio stations would be forced to learn a lesson from the situation and convinced to better monitor their programming and contests in an effort to make sure that they do not put their listeners in a situation that could be potentially life threatening.

But in an imperfect world, the radio stations would probably not take heed and inevitably slack after a short period of time, which is where the FCC should exercise their legal control. Laws should be made that specifically outline the consequences to be inflicted on stations that knowingly put their contestants in danger. While radio personnel can get around this by having their contestants sign papers that waive responsibility, the classic game of blame would be put on the participant, which is sad in the event of death but clear-cut enough to accurately resolve such a conflict. In the case of Strange, the FCC may be slow to respond the situation, but legislation will surely and inevitably be set in stone, and although it was unfortunate that this lesson had to be learned through the death of an innocent woman, radio and its listeners will be adequately protected in the future as a result.