Apparently, the next day (Thursday morning) Matt and Crank gave The Critics Page free publicity. Unfortunately, no one associated with The Critics Page happened to be tuned in and we missed the airing. A couple of our friends clued us in and the gist of what we got out of it was more of the same that has been posted on our FaceBook page by Matt and Crank fans.
Needless to say, we find the reactions, particularly the reactions of Matt, Crank, and their fans rather amusing and, as usual, predictable and hypocritical. First, we'd like to know how anyone could think we're "hiding out" here. The Internet is not a very good place for anyone to hide out. We knew someone from WZBH would eventually find us. We're just surprised it took anyone this long.
We do thank Matt and Crank for not letting us down with their response. Among those of us associated with The Critics Page, we had a bet not on what the response would be, but on what stereotype would Matt and Crank use to ridicule the creator or creators of the website. The only surprise was none of us guessed "coward".
Matt and Crank often chastise their listeners for not being more active to effect change in their communities or the political process. So along comes a group of drunk rednecks who decided to let their voices be heard about what they think of a local radio station's programming and we're chastised for being "cowards" and even though Matt was "flattered", he was a little "creeped out". Fans of the Matt and Crank show were no less kind, but just as predicatable. We are one, forty-something douchebag living in Mom's basement and have no social skills.
This is the form of "entertainment" that The Critics Page objects to. Ninety percent of the Matt and Crank show is based on stereotyping groups of people and then making fun of them. Their four main targets are women; non-Christians, particularly Muslims; non-Whites, particularly Blacks; and gays/lesbians. If this form of entertainment were contained to the Matt and Crank show, it would be a lot easier to ignore, but throughout the day, clips from the show are aired. Those clips combined with commentary made from at least two other DJs help set the tone of the overall programming at WZBH.
But the purpose of this post is to shatter the stereotypes being bantered about who made this site and is not about WZBH's programming. We'll start by letting you know that one person is not solely responsible. It is a collaborative effort of five people - three drunk rednecks and two women. We do live in a rural community that is a right good distance to any town. Our one and only local bar got shut down and it is too far to drive to the next nearest one. We're all friends and we usually get together on a Saturday night at one of our houses, get drunk, play cards, and talk about a lot of things, but usually about how to get rich off the Internet like these sixteen-year-old kids do that we hear about.
Talking about getting rich off the Internet and doing it are two different things, especially when our only skills are knowing how to Google something. So for months, we talked about it, talked about our lousy government, the criminals running our financial institutions, our corrupt state government and how they are trying to make watermen obsolete, DNR Gestapo tactics to protect a snapping turtle, and one of the women in our circle would bring up the latest Matt and Crank offense. Like the good ol', sensitive boys we are, we'd tell her to go get us another beer.
Eventually, our idle talk began to center around starting a You Tube channel. We heard stories of people who had popular You Tube channels and how advertisers payed them outrageous amounts of money to put their advertisements on their channel. We developed an idea of "Drunk Rednecks of the Round Table". It made sense. We talk a lot of nonsense like all talk show hosts do and we usually are drunk and sitting around a round table.
The idea sounded good until we sobered up the next day. None of us were really ready to be in the public eye, even if the public eye were only a whopping three strangers watching us. None of us had a digital video cam. All five of us could find the You Tube site on the Internet, but only one of us had any idea how to edit and upload video, create a companion website, and tie it all in to the social networks. So more talk and no action.
Then a couple of months ago, one of the women in our loosely knit group talked about one of the DJs still using the long-dead expression "chicks" when talking about women. That got the women talking about WZBH, Matt and Crank, and the general disregard held towards women. We all busted out laughing when one of them jokingly said, "Let's bring them down here and see if us chicks can't skin them faster than we can a muskrat." Boy, how we wish we caught that on video. (No, Matt and Crank. They don't have butch haircuts, wear flannel shirts and army boots, nor are they husky or fat.)
We decided we all would start listening to WZBH and it didn't take long before us guys started seeing what the women had been complaining about for months. It's not like we never listened to WZBH before. I, for example, happened to catch a particularly nasty segment last summer on the morning show and couldn't believe that a local station would air such blatantly homophobic and racist programming. Fortunately, until we started this website, I rarely listened to the morning show. I am also a huge fan of "Lights Out with JJ", especially his Wednesday night show. I usually catch it on my way home from work.
We're all rock fans so at one time or another, we all have tired of our CDs and listened to WZBH, but none of us really paid attention to the programming - except for the one woman who listened to Matt and Crank every once in awhile to bring something to the Round Table.
We decided it was time to get off our drunk asses, stop talking, and do something. What was being passed off as entertainment on the morning show and promoted throughout the day was hardly representative of Delmarva listeners and certainly wasn't being "loyal to Delmarva". It was stereotypical conservative bull crap from the other side of the Bay and it should've stayed on the other side of the Bay.
Now us five had a problem. Only one of us had any idea how to work the Internet and had about average writing skills. The responsibility of creating the website and the writing found here fell on yours truly, who is writing to you now. Most of what you find here takes about fifteen to twenty minutes tops to produce.
Reviewing Matt and Crank is easy. My one friend records the program she wants reviewed, jots down a few key points she wants made, and hands the recording and her notes to me. I listen to the recording then write the critique. If I don't happen to see things the way she does, we all talk about it and sometimes, the critique doesn't get published.
Currently, we have only reviewed Matt and Crank, Chris Steele, and JJ. Chris Steele and JJ are easy. If they make comments that support the sterotype bashing that is a staple of the morning show, we make mention of it. The Critics page, after all, is dedicated to showing the overall tone WZBH's programming is setting throughout the day and not just of the Matt and Crank program.
We do see three primary results of running this website.
- An overwhelming response of support for what is being said here effects change in programming at WZBH
- About an even split of support that may or may not effect change in programming at WZBH
- Rejection of our views, which means WZBH conducts business as usual and this site eventually fades into oblivion
So, Matt and Crank, you owe your listeners an apology for stereotyping the creators of this site as being one, lonely coward living in Mom's basement. It is a collaborative effort of five local people who have their sights set higher than your little four-and-a-half hour show or even WZBH as a whole.
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