Yesterday we told you about the sick contest Columbus, Ohio's WTVN AM 610 (a Clear Channel station) held last week in reaction to Mayor Michael Coleman's decision to keep city employees from visiting Arizona on official business because of the state's new controversial immigration law.
The prize was a free trip to Phoenix, AZ for “a weekend chasing aliens and spending cash in the desert.” The station's promotion of the contest also implored contestants to be “sure to bring your green card.”
WTVN AM 610 station manager Brian Dytko is now apologizing saying in part, “We apologize for our actions here. We are always striving to engage our community on important issues of the day and sometimes we do a better job than others, but we always take the input of our community.”
Transcript:
This is Brian Dytko, Station Manager of WTVN with a message regarding our station's recent “Win a Trip to Phoenix, Arizona” promotional contest. Our contest was meant as a humorous response to a City of Columbus ban on travel to Arizona by city employees. In fact, a key element of the promotion was that city employees were specifically invited to enter the contest. We regret that our promotional copy has been characterized as condoning violence. This was not our intent, and we do not condone violence of any kind. We apologize for our actions here. We are always striving to engage our community on important issues of the day and sometimes we do a better job than others, but we always take the input of our community seriously.
Previously: