Newspaper Calls For FCC Review Of Homophobic Political Ads By Radio Talker/Station Operator

From Belleville News Democrat Video

The ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH has editorialized that the FCC should "review" comments made in political ads for INSANE BROADCASTING COMPANY News-Talk-Oldies KZQZ-A/ST. LOUIS operator and talk host BOB ROMANIK, saying that "the filth spewed" by ROMANIK (who the paper noted is a "two-time felon... and candidate for the ILLINOIS state House") "has no place on the public airwaves."

The ads for ROMANIK, who bills himself as "the Grim Reaper of Radio" and "The Craziest Son of a Bitch on Radio Today") attack ST. CLAIR COUNTY Board Chairman MARK KERN, after taking him to task for problems at a local airport and other alleged failures, as a cross-dresser, referring to KERN with an offensive term for effeminacy.  The ads then ask KERN if he has been "lying about your sexuality and sex life," calling him "MARK 'Sweetcakes' KERN, not a wolf in sheep's clothing but a very small man in women's clothing... to all the people of ST. CLAIR COUNTY, you'll be known as MARK 'THE F----T' KERN, a f----t forever."  The ads are backed with TINY TIM's "Tiptoe Through the Tulips."  KERN called ROMANIK's "hate" ads "unworthy of comment."

The P-D editorial urged, "Listeners must not allow this abuse of the public airwaves to stand. The Federal Communications Commission needs to hear from anyone who believes ROMANIK’s hate speech deserves sanction. ROMANIK makes GOP presidential candidate DONALD TRUMP seem like a model of good manners and decorum."  It added that when he found out the paper was looking into the issue, ROMANIK called and "began shouting the worst kinds of unprintable homophobic slurs."  And when a listener called on the air to complain on TUESDAY's show, ROMANIK reportedly responded that anyone who thinks he doesn't have the right to say what he said can "kiss my red, white and blue, hairy, stinky old ass.… I can question anybody’s sexuality,” then called the caller “one of KERN’s ignorant butt boys, you ignorant bastard,” following that by rhetorically asking KERN, “Hey, f-----t boy. Are you or are you not gay?”  The editorial offered the FCC's phone number and Chairman TOM WHEELER's email address for potential complainants to reach the agency.

On his show FRIDAY, ROMANIK called the editorial writer "more of a lady" and a "lispy idiot bastard" and railed against people who "call everything hate speech" like those at "the people at the Post-Disgrace," responding that his First Amendment rights protect his invective and saying he uses the derogatory word for gay "because I can."  "Who the hell are you guys to say where that line (between protected speech and hate speech) is?," ROMANIK said, playing MOE BANDY and JOE STAMPLEY's "Where's the Dress" and calling it "fun."  "I didn't say KERN was gay," ROMANIK objected.  "I was only asking the question... there's no hate speech in 'f----t.'"

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