FACT SHEET:
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Chronology of Media Action Center License Challenge:
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January 12, 2007: KDND hosts "Hold Your Wee for a Wii"
Contest which kills contestant Jennifer Strange
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March, 2009: Sue Wilson release documentary film, "Broadcast Blues" in Sacramento,
documenting the KDND case
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September 17, 2009: William A.
Strange v Entercom civil trial begins
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October 29, 2009:
Jury finds Entercom Sacramento negligent for Mrs. Strange's death and
awards her family $16,577,118, which was later paid by Entercom's insurance company.
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October 31, 2013: On the last day of its license period, Sue Wilson and the Media Action Center file a legal
Petition to Deny the renewal of KDND's license to broadcast, citing its negligence in killing Mrs. Strange.
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October 27, 2016, the Federal Communications Commission
orders a hearing on Wilson's Petition. It is a scathing indictment of Entercom, citing inattention to KDND's Public Interest obligation and orders it to prepare for trial by July 27, 2017. It is the first such hearing the FCC has called in roughly 40 years.
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January 9, 2017: Sue Wilson and MAC file a
motion to expand its license challenge to all six Entercom station licenses
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February 2, 2017: Entercom announces
merger with CBS Radio
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February 3, 2017:
Entercom announces it is
surrendering the license to KDND
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How KDND neglected the Public Interest in this case:
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1. KDND Staff knew they were conducting a contest which could kill someone. Prior to the contest, they made fun of the water intoxication death of Matthew Carrington on the air, they had their "gag guy" drink a large amount of water as part of their show and laughed as the very large man became light headed and ill. But never informed the contestants of any danger.
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2.
Many listeners called into the KDND to warn staff that the contest was
deadly. Some calls made it on the air so Morning Rave Hosts could make
fun of them. Most calls went to management which ignored them.
Contestants were cordoned off in the Entercom Sacramento kitchen and
were not allowed to hear any of the calls.
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3.
A Release Form outlining the rules and risks of the contest was
drafted, but never given to the contestants. Station manager Steve Weed
testified at trial he’d never considered giving rules which actually
spelled out hazards of the contest — to the contestants. Instead, a
generic release (deemed by the judge to be no release at all) was signed
by Jennifer Strange and the other contestants.
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4. The original rules
(never given to the contestants) stated contestants were to drink 8
ounces of water every fifteen minutes (which is considered safe.) KDND
staff and management changed the rules in the middle of the contest to
make contestants drink 16.9 ounces of water every 15 minutes, which is
considered deadly.
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5. People were getting sick, only to have KDND staff post photos of them vomiting onto its Facebook page.
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6. Unwritten Entercom rules said a medical professional should be present during such a contest. None was.
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7.
After the contest, Jennifer Strange told the Morning Rave staff she was
too ill to drive home, but they abandoned her to the station's lobby. She finally
did drive home, and died there some time later.
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8.
When Jennifer's co-worker called the station to inform them of
Jennifer's death and asked they call the other contestants to warn them
to seek medical advice, General Manager John Geary, upon getting advice
from Entercom's Corporate office in Massachusetts, told his station
manager not to call contestants, but to call lawyers instead.
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Was KDND serving the public interest? Clearly not.
