Radio expert says WEEI must get back to basics
A sudden exodus of advertisers from embattled sports talk station WEEI — amid controversy over a host’s offensive impersonation of a stereotypical Asian-American accent — is a wake-up call to abandon childish on-air antics and return to actual substance, a longtime radio expert told the Herald.
“I think it’s time to give it a rest and go back to whatever your bread and butter is,” said Donna Halper, a radio consultant and professor of media studies at Lesley University. “Go back to being entertaining and provocative, but take a rest on the outrage. You’ll find the listeners will migrate back, the partisans will calm down and the clients you lost will say, ‘This is entertaining again. Let’s be back there.’ ”
Two state agencies — the Massachusetts State Lottery and the Massachusetts Health Connector — have pulled ads from WEEI after host Christian Fauria imitated sports agent Don Yee on-air last week in an exaggerated, mocking Asian accent. Yee was born in Sacramento, Calif.
Fauria’s offense occurred while mocking a prank that led to Herald sports columnist Ron Borges writing a column that proved to be untrue regarding Tom Brady’s contract negotiations. Yee is Brady’s agent.
The Lottery’s decision to exit resulted in the cancellation of $16,000 worth of upcoming ads for WEEI, a Lottery spokesman said.
“I strongly condemn this behavior and others like it that perpetrate racism, and are completely contrary to the kind of inclusive society we believe in,” state Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg said in a statement.
The Health Connector, which had started ads on WEEI on Jan. 8, pulled ads “due to recent behavior,” according to spokesman Jason Lefferts.
“The governor supports their decision,” said Brendan Moss, a spokesman for Gov. Charlie Baker, of the two agencies’ decisions.
Comcast and City of Boston Credit Union have also stopped advertising on the station. WEEI did not comment.