Kyle’s listeners the forgotten villains in this scandal

Aleg says:

05:54am | 03/08/09

What a great article.

Wait, no.

What a crap article.

That’s what I meant.

Jonathan says:

06:19am | 03/08/09

Couldn’t have said it better myself. 

Also, Andrew “Boy” Charlton, not Boyd.  Ta.

Herb says:

10:42am | 03/08/09

Yeah, nice going Deal. First you pick on bogans, now you’re having a go at morons. Next I spose you’re going to stick the boot in to dickheads. Just because they’re stupid, doesn’t mean they don’t have feelings.

Helena says:

10:43am | 03/08/09

mong! ROFL - that brought back memories - hilarious!!
***constructive criticism, expressing what Idol viewers were thinking about SideShow Bob! many whom consider him very talented ***

I adore King Kyle and have been so upset by all the attacks against him
sure it was mindblowingly stupid and I believe immoral to have a minor on a lie detector, but a decision made by a whole production team, and consented to by the one person who should have been protecting the girl, and therein lies my anger, parents like her - are who everybody should be railing against

if you don’t like it don’t listen to it!, even boycott the sponsors, if there are truly so many people not wanting to listen to Kyle - then he will be taken off air - I don’t believe the numbers are anywhere near that high, nor do they reflect regular listeners, my belief is that most people complaining were never fans anyway, never listened to the show, let alone the segment in question, and most are just joining the outraged bandwagon, and enjoying “sticking the boot” into a man they never liked

I’m sure he will remain highly popular with his fan base and sincerely hope he is back on air soon and on Idol on Sunday

RT says:

10:44am | 03/08/09

‘The national finger pointing’. Exactly. There would be no such stunts as the lie-detector one if shows that feature them were not popular. But since I never listen to commerial FM radio, I’l exempt myself from blame on this occasion, thanks.

benough says:

11:13am | 03/08/09

Dear Herb. So what if they have feelings? They are still bogans, morons and dickheads.

The point is, regardless of their feelings, is that what these people is support is considered by some, unacceptable.

Correct me if I am wrong Mr Deal but I believe this current backlash by the public is about upholding a standard for all of society and that people shouldn’t be exploited for the financial benefit of others.

Yes Helena, we don’t listen to it but we still have the right to say if something is considered wrong.

Well done Chris for having the balls to consider all of the people who were support this rubbish.

Sarah says:

01:31pm | 03/08/09

This article is pretty funny and accurate.  However I agree whole-heartedly with Helena. 

Don’t like Kyle and Jackie O??  Then don’t listen.

mckenny says:

01:45pm | 03/08/09

Everything Kyle says, does or thinks should be straight to video.

craigles says:

02:14pm | 03/08/09

Vyle [may] remain highly popular with his fan base; but; it is looking like he has copped a log that broke the camels back.  As the article says, it has now become about his audience too, and his influence, and the damage to the latter may be the end-game.

mel says:

02:25pm | 03/08/09

Dear Chris,

Your article reads much like an old copy of Ulysses - doesn’t matter how many times you try to read it, it remains irritatingly useless from the first line.

I’m still undecided as to which radio station I should listen to in the interim - the “witty repartee” of Merrick and Rosso so I can hear about “why the chicken crossed the road” - again - or perhaps I should tune into Triple M where everyday is like a lucky dip since they fire every breakfast broadcaster before I can finish my morning cocoa pops. But then of course, there’s good ol’ Mix - where one half of their “top notch” team regularly finds himself in lewd parks, half naked and laden with illicit substances. To be fair, he and Sonia make a formidable team - afterall, he “has” asked her to carry his baby - on a “friends/co-host” basis only. But at this stage, I think I’m leaning towards the AM airwaves - and why not? Surely they’re still running with John Laws’s “cash for comment” policy?

I wonder how I could have “ever” turned my attention to those “spoilt only-child yuppies,” Kyle and Jackie.

I remain their ardent and “loyal subject.”

Megan says:

02:42pm | 03/08/09

Great article Chris, unfortunately the people of which you speak don’t read The Punch so they will never get the message. They will continue tuning in in droves and Vile and Tacky ho will be back on air next Monday.

Chris Deal says:

03:37pm | 03/08/09

Hi Mel, thanks for your comment.

So you’re basically saying that because there’s no other option on breakfast radio so we may as well just put up with this rubbish? Interesting take.

Anyway, better get back to my copy of Ulysses. I tell you it’s all Greek to me.

Ben says:

04:07pm | 03/08/09

This is what I’ve thought from day 1: Kyle is only a symptom of a populace dumb enough to elect him as their God.
Having never (not ever) listened to his radio show, having never been a fan of Idol, having only ever heard of him when he makes the news and when he was on Denton, you can imagine that I probably have (somehow) a worse view of him than most.
I still don’t blame him for it though. He’s an idiot that got lucky. I realised (after 3 years of him not fading in to the darkness, but instead becoming a “brighter” star) that he actually had supporters. He actually had people who defended him and thought he was great. He didn’t just have supporters, he had THE MOST supporters.
Also, I have to say, good on the author for calling out the oldest trick in the book: Jackie O’s function as “immediate damage control” is as see-through as her talent.
So I enjoyed the article, but I have to ask: What do we do about people dumb enough to support Kyle & Jackie O?
I’m normally a libertarian, but the stupidity of an audience that would put these two in control of the airwaves makes me think some giant China-style re-education camp would work wonders. If they all come out glassy-eyed and agreeing with all government policies regardless of sanity, they’re still better off than they were.

regina says:

04:25pm | 03/08/09

ugh, it was a freak show from start to finish!

from the b-list celebrity guests who’ll apparently only speak to the 2 of them when they’re in town to the loyal fun-loving listeners prepared to sell their souls or relationships for a couple of pink tickets.

sure their program was routinely uninformed, misogynistic, simplistic, racist, judgemental, moronic, narcissistic, predatory ... but the worst part of it all for me was their unwavering cold-hearted cruelty.

good to see them go and i hope it’s for good ... triple j all the way!

mel says:

05:05pm | 03/08/09

Hi Chris,

I think your article misses a crucial point. There’s nothing necessarily to “put up with” as far as any radio station nor other media/entertainment medium is concerned.

With all that time you’ve spent tapping away on your keyboard, perhaps you’ve overlooked the “off” or “volume” controls on your stereo/radio.

People don’t “have to” put up with anything. If you don’t like a television program, change the channel. If you don’t like the look of a magazine, don’t read it, If you don’t like the Kyle and Jackie O Show, don’t listen. It’s not rocket science.

Chris Deal says:

05:35pm | 03/08/09

Thanks Mel, that’s the exact point that I was trying to make.

By the sounds of it, this article isn’t even addressed to you, as you have, from what I can gather, found the off button on Kyle and Jackie O. I’m not sure. I can’t quite make out what your position is on this issue at all. It’s all gone a bit James Joyce…

matt says:

06:16pm | 03/08/09

I don’t know if its me getting older but the entertainment industry is nothing as it was, maybe we are too hard to impress these days? Kyle and Jackie O would give panadol a head ache, and they’re number 1????
Years ago all we wanted to do was laugh, Hey Hey its Saturday, Andrew Denton breakfast show, Fast forward, Allo Allo, Graham Kennedy, Paul Hogan show, Benny Hill and many more, all feel good comedy.  These days, we’re stuck with american crime shows and reality tv rubbish and Rove’s troop of unfunny comedians, and 20hours of news, its like we dont want to laugh anymore, we WANT to be disgusted, annoyed, appalled, watch people breakdown, how else could you explain Sandilands’ following.
I keep hearing his fans say he tells it as it is. He tells it to get the biggest rise from people, he wants contraversy to follow him around because thats all hes got, a big fat attitude, thats his playing card. Do you think he’s on Idol for his music industry experience? He’s not even that creative when he is laying into people. He reminds me of the fat kid at school, with shit in his pants, vegemite all over his face pickin on the smallest kid in the grade.
I apologise for jabberring on but your right Chris, his listeners can share alot of the blame, its a sad thing that when so many people actually look up to this prick, you actually see how low society has got.

John says:

06:56pm | 03/08/09

I really don’t understand all of this kerfuffle. What is wrong with society that we sit down to obsess about how we hate Kyle & Jacki O while watching Maury Povich, Jerry Springer and all of the “My 13 Year old is out of control!!” tripe thats served up on Foxtel. This all smacks of the Bill Henson controversy of a year ago ... we were all up in arms about his pics yet public libraries and art galleries across the country had more of his work and others like David Hamilton. Not trying to condone what Bill or Kyle did, but definitely not liking our obsessive and unreasonable ways.

Tom says:

07:44pm | 03/08/09

The amount of talentless individuals on television and radio in this country really is staggering, and a sad reflection on the intelligence of the Australian populace. And we wonder why much of the world sees us as an uncultured backwater.

mel says:

08:29pm | 03/08/09

Hi Chris,

My position has been clear and consistent.

Your comment in response to my initial post queried why anyone should have to “put up with” Kyle and Jackie’s “rubbish” and I responded merely by pointing out that noone has to “put up with” anything. Again, if you don’t like their program, turn it off.

Yes, I found my “off” button on the radio - this morning as it turned out. No point listening anymore without the Kyle and Jackie O Show.

Clearly, their hiatus has already left me senseless, for here I find myself among the bottom-feeders who convince themselves that if they put up a seemingly pensive black and white headshot against a bunch of cliches and colourful adjectives, it’s hard hitting journalism!

You should thank your lucky stars for Kyle Sandilands, for without this so-called “scandal” available to you to lap up in all your “blogging glory”, you’d still only have “Nanna Deal” as the sole reader of your “lovely little stories.”

As per my original post, I remain a “loyal subject” of Kyle and Jackie.

Ta Chris - it’s been interesting

Greg P says:

10:05pm | 03/08/09

It didn’t take long for the “if you don’t like it, turn it off” defence to be wheeled out. This is the stock defence for any vulgar, peurile and/or offensive programming (as was the case of The Chaser). Perhaps it is comforting to think that 89% of the Sydney radio-listening population have the good sense NOT to listen to this type of programming, but what does it say about the 11% of the Sydney population who does? As one poster noted above, the alternatives on the FM breakfast timeslot are hardly shining beacons of moral fibre or intelligent entertainment.

What is really concerning is how did we get here? How did we get a show with a virtual R-rating being allowed in a family morning time-slot? Is this the result of radio stations being virtual self-regulators? Or does K and J just reflect the moral decline in our societal standards?

Ted G says:

10:39pm | 03/08/09

It’s just like the school bullies being egged on by the crowd. The adoring crowd are just as complicit by adding supposed credibility to low acts. Just because you have an audience doesn’t mean the act is OK. Just because others turn away, doesn’t mean they have no right to an opinion. 

Yeah, and if you don’t like snuff movies, just don’t watch them. Prude.

Dan O'D says:

06:25am | 04/08/09

In regards to the “If you don’t like it, turn it off” concept, I ask why don’t we show pornography on TV? 

After all .. if you don’t like it, you can turn it off.  After that we can start showing executions (IYDLI, TIO), fatal accidents, let people televise their own suicides… because just because something is vile and wrong and some people like it… you shouldn’t get rid of it… just turn it off if you don’t like it!

PS Chris, you hit a winner with Mel! Hook line sinker.  Keep up the good writing and say hello to your Nanna (your only devoted reader apparently) for me!

Ben says:

09:24am | 04/08/09

So Kyle bites the dust. It’s hard not to conclude it has a lot to do with other complainants coming forward about their treatment on the radio show.
But the whole thing is now starting to feel a little sickening on behalf of the community as well. I don’t feel comfortable that the community not only puts up with but supports the kind of exploitative drivel peddled by 2Day FM, Kyle and the somehow teflon blond girl on the show, only then shoot it down in a frenzy of self righteous indignation. Isn’t it all more than a bit hypocritcal?
Take the rugby union bloke crucified for his unbelievably tracky and not very nice antics with the young girl in NZ. The public has known for years that stuff like that was going and didn’t seem too upset - until all of a sudden they were provided with evidence of a particularly nasty example and then hey presto! Everyone became guardians of public morality.
It seems that most people don’t give a toss what goes on until they are confronted with uncomfortable evidence that offends their personal morality and then they tear down the designated scape goat.
Which is not to say that Kyle, boofhead rugby players and the teflon Jackie woman aren’t all superflous to requirements.

matt says:

10:02am | 04/08/09

its about protecting ‘everyones’ ears, not just the fans.

Chris Deal says:

10:05am | 04/08/09

@ Ben

Hey Ben thanks for your comment.

I just want to point out in your questioning about hypocricy of the listeners, that for a very long time a good proportion of the public HAS been upset about the base exploits of Kyle and Jackie O, but it seems it took the word “rape” to finally cut through the din and really bring this issue to a head. It’s not self-righteous indignation, it’s standing up against a bully, and saying “nup, enough”.

My issue is with the active listeners who don’t see anything wrong with this, or any other of this pair’s nasty exploitation stunts such as the “Home & Away” segment as aired on Media Watch last night where they cruelly toyed with the emotions of the refugee and her niece just for “entertainment” purposes. Check it out here, it’s like watching David Brent in The Office playing a “practical joke” bringing Dawn the receptionist to tears. But it’s real. Amazing. http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/

Hope that helps clarify things a little.

John D says:

10:36am | 04/08/09

Spot on Chris.

The whole affair is like an continuous Stanley Milgram experiment highlighting the pleasure people derive from other people’s anguish. It is like a form of organised evil.

Alistair Erskine says:

10:37am | 04/08/09

Please dont try and protect my ears. I would much rather turn the radio off myself in disgust and outrage than have people try and protect me from the evils lurking on commercial radio.
Im really really upset that the way Kyle and Jackie O are losing their slots is though moral outrage and pitchfork waving, as opposed to everyone working out that beating their head against a wall and listening to a jackhammer was more preferable than their brand of entertainment. Sadly now, these two dont have the chance to fade away into obscurity.

Miriam says:

12:53pm | 04/08/09

HONESTLY.
How stupid. Its is not Kyle Or Jackie O’s fault.
What mother takes their own daughter on to a radio show to see whether she has had sex and what not.
Kyle should not be punished for a mother stupid mistake.
How would you react if a 14 year old told you they had been raped. Kyle & Jackie O would have been in shock i know i would have. Of course what he said would have came out the wrong way. Even so if the mother knew her own daughter had been raped then why weren’t Klye and Jackie O told? How do you know that it wasn’t a set up to get money out of them? See its quesitons like that you should ask before blaming other people who have now lost their jobs. Also the 7 second delay crap. It is not their fault they do not have one or may not have been shown how to use it. What does any of this have to do with someone losing their job? What other radio show offers what Kyle and Jackie O do? None if you ask me. There radio show is one of kind. Celebrties, Good Music, Funny Hosts what more could you ask for? That’s what makes there show so unique. So what if many people think there radio show is rude and whatever its there show for a reason. There show is what it is. Its something they want to be like. Not what other people think its should be like. I think that people she reconsider the loss of kyles job on the radio show and on Australian idol.

SO STUPIDD !

Jonathan says:

01:31pm | 04/08/09

Miriam: you’ve missed the point entirely.  Once again I say: the issue is not that the rape situation surfaced, it’s that they even had a 14 year old girl on a radio station to discuss her sex life.  Under duress, at that.
You and Mel, as the author of this piece points out, are a big part of the problem.  To not see that there’s anything wrong with the whole premise of the segment and to keep saying “It’s not their fault, it’s the mother!” is just being blind to reality.  It may as well have been you lining up for the pink tickets.  Yes, the mother is a moron (who is apparently being investigated by DOCS) but you and your ilk, for blindly following and encouraging this moronic media outlet, are guilty guilty guilty.
That’s what the author of this piece was getting at.

John D says:

02:45pm | 04/08/09

Decency, Miriam. That’s what else we can ask for.

As Jonathon points out, you, by listening to and therefore supporting humor that is based on the public humiliation of innocent people, are directly responsible for all the pain that poor kid felt.

eliane says:

03:42pm | 04/08/09

John D and Jonathan, go and get a life. Its the mother’s stupidity, not Kyle and Jackie O fault. I would never put my daughter in that position as she should of been protecting her not exploiting her and putting her in that position knowing she was raped.
There is no radio station more entertaining than Kyle and Jackie O, they wouldnt be NO.1 if they werent. As for public humiliation of people, dont go on the show and put yourself in that position to be humiliated. Dont blame the host people willingly go on the show.

John D says:

04:02pm | 04/08/09

I have a life. And it is all the better for not tuning into to Kyle and Jackie O.

Lea says:

04:05pm | 04/08/09

Great angle on the whole issue Chris - I completely agree. It’s the moronic listeners who enable this talentless and cruel show to continue that are at fault here. But sadly, the chances of them seeing this fact are rather low. With the huge public backlash against the duo, their fans are more likely to go up in arms and swing the other way.

Let’s face it, what happens now will be up to Austereo - will they allow the talentless duo to continue? As long as the fan base is there, why wouldn’t they? They’re profit-driven, not moral-driven. Otherwise they would’ve given them the boot a long time ago. So is this public debate really achieving anything?

Mark L says:

04:14pm | 04/08/09

Unfortunately getting rid of the presenters will still not prevent the horrible, formulaic, commerical crap that that is playlisted on 2DAY.  But I guess its a step in the right direction.

Jonathan says:

04:22pm | 04/08/09

eliane: WOW!  You’ve just shown exactly why people need to be protected from themselves.
I quote: “There is no radio station more entertaining than Kyle and Jackie O, they wouldnt be NO.1 if they werent.”
You really don’t see that the listeners, the radio station and the presenters are the problem?  Really?  Truly?  You do realise that by listening to and sticking up for these people in a public forum you’re vindicating ALL of their actions: from puerile masturbation stunts through to the discussion of an underaged girl’s sex life.  YOU are the problem.  YOU encouraged them to the point where they would pull those stunts.  YOU say they did nothing wrong.  YOU, madam, are a fool.

goran says:

05:22pm | 04/08/09

2Day FM is not the #1 radio station. 2GB is. AM. yes tahts rite AM nto FM. and there is a massive Diff. between the amount of audiance between the number 1 station 2GB and 2day fm. just take a look at the radio ratings. who cares about kyle and jackie. they act like kids and they are old and wanna act young. grow up.

davido says:

07:50pm | 04/08/09

‘Dont blame them because they are only dishing up what the people want…’

Interesting theory, sort of sounds like ‘Dont blame me because Im only following orders…’

It also sounds similar to this argument…
‘Crack users want crack… so dont blame dealers for giving it to them’

Smacks of a lack of personal responsibility - by everyone.

Another interesting but misleading fact…
‘The most recent Nielson stats have Kyle and Jackie O cornering an 11.4% Sydney market share, attracting a cumulative audience of just over half a million listeners, ’ THAT would be true if it were 11.4% of the total population of Sydney. The true figue is much lower and is a mere 11.4% of the number of people listening to radio.

Bob says:

08:14pm | 04/08/09

You’ve obviously never listened to anything but noisebites of the show. Listen to the whole thing over a week and you’ll see that your characterisation of Kyle and Jackie belong to only 5 minutes of the 3 hours of each daily show.

If people want us to turn off then get an alternative. Merrick, Kate and “what’s that, speak up I can’t hear you!” Rosso are no competition at all.

Leigh says:

08:52pm | 04/08/09

I bet all you people who have made comments have listened to the Kyle and Jackie O show one time or another so stop being hyprocrits and get over yourselves you just like writing crap.. Hay what about the Mother she should share some or alot of the blame.. she brought her daugther onto the show, Its a terriable thing what happend to that girl but Kyle and Jackie O didn’t know and people make mistakes, but shit think this whole thing is getting out of control and I think Kyle shoud stay on Australian Idol.. for sure…

Jane says:

09:25pm | 04/08/09

Unadulterated rubbish.  We can see what our kids are being exposed to on the TV and computer but once they get those plugs in their ears we have no idea.  Given the physical/mental age group this moronic pair and their producers aim for they should simply be taken off the air.  If you want to listen to that sort of tripe there are lots of recordings around,stop polluting the air waves. There are those among us who would prefer our kids not to grow up thinking this sort of cruelty and perversion is normal and/or funny.  It simply is not.

Julie Coker-Godson says:

09:41pm | 04/08/09

I’ll put this in very simple terms:  When the mother approached the 2DayFM to do this so-called “Segment” and told them what she wanted to do with her daughter 2DayFM should have refused her request then and there and that should have been the end of the matter.  I’m moving on now…..

skepticlawyer says:

02:37am | 05/08/09

This has really touched a nerve, Chris—well done. It’s touched a nerve because—in the last however many years—it’s become unfashionable to criticize other people’s tastes. As part of the great rush towards making popular culture ‘acceptable’, we’ve created a world where it’s become very difficult to say, ‘sorry mate, your taste is rubbish’.

Of course, telling someone that their taste is tripe doesn’t mean that they are less of a human being. I do think it’s dangerous when criticism of what a person likes spills over into an assessment of their worth. Chris didn’t do that in his article—the distinction may be a fine one, but it’s important to bear it in mind.

That said, the ability to make a taste and judgment call is an important one, and to be encouraged. Some things are better than others. Some cultural products are better than others. Dealing with that—and then working out why—has now become a matter of urgency.

YT says:

10:06am | 05/08/09

Absolutely.  if you listen to these dills (K&JO;) you are the one creating the commercial drive for the crap they produce.  As I listen to M,R&KR; (because their humour is FUNNY not ABUSIVE and INTRUSIVE) I feel I can point the fingr and say that the 2Day stunt was innappropriate at best, abuse of a minor at worst. 

Listening to H&A in the arvos I also hear promos for K&JO;.  Did anyone else hear the latest one - they’re searching for Sydney’s smallest weiner.  Surely this stuff should be pulled off air (sorry - very poor choice of expression).  It’s Zoo magazine in radio format - catering to the lowest wit or absence thereof.

I thought the same of the women’s mags and Princess Di.

blue tongue says:

10:53am | 05/08/09

It’s sad to know there are adults who are responsible for the upbringing of children who are not offended by the vile rubbish that has been served up by 2crap FM for the last 9 years.

Terry Gallop says:

07:30pm | 05/08/09

You are correct that the cheering crowds are part of the industry that chooses to soil our values and decency in the interests of ratings (=money).

But each of us is responsible for our own standards and we can’t blame our actions on the actions of others. This sordid affair, like a plane accident, was the end result of a series of errors.
1) Austereo for allowing its radio broadcast standards to descend into a pit.
2) The station producers for thinking up, or allowing and supporting such an event as a 14 year old bein quizzed by her mother about her sex life. Obvioulsy they were only thinking of titilating the 15 year old boys who listen. No one else would be entertained by such rubbish (except 15 year old Kyle)
3) The Cockroach and the Canary for including and conducting this segment.
4) The mother ofr bringing her daughter to the execution.

They are all equally culpable as they all could have stopped it, but the rot started with Austereo management and its childish pursuit of ratings above all decency.