Jay Severin returns to the WTKK-FM airwaves with “a tricky task ahead of him, according to Boston Phoenix media writer Adam Reilly. “On the one hand,” notes Reilly, “Severin needs to show his bosses that he can, in fact, be “civil and respectful,” or at least come reasonably close. But Severin also has to convince his loyal listenership that–his recent suspension notwithstanding–he’s still the same edgy, erudite, Asian-women-lovin” conservative they’ve come to esteem.”
And fellow Boston media hound Dan Kennedy quotes Heidi Raphael, spokeswoman for Greater Media, WTKK’s parent corporation in his Media Nation blog:
“We have had conversations with Jay Severin over the past several weeks about his hurtful, inappropriate remarks. He understands that we will not accept this type of commentary on our airwaves in the future. Based on this understanding, we have agreed to conclude Jay’s suspension and he will return to the 96.9 FM WTKK airwaves on Tuesday, June 2, 2009. We want to emphasize that WTKK still strongly supports an open and spirited debate about the many issues our community and our country currently face. There will no doubt be times when people disagree with what Jay says. Our goal is to maintain a level of discourse that is compelling and thought-provoking, yet civil and respectful. While we will not always succeed in walking this line, we will continually strive to do so.
As Kennedy notes, “Given that Severin’s entire show is based on making hurtful, inappropriate remarks, it will be very interesting to see how this plays out.”
Indeed!
