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KCRW launches MALCOLM music service to help indie bands in need
Being a DJ at radio station can be an embarrassment of riches. And really, who's going to listen to you complain about having too much music to listen to? Santa Monica's terrifically wonderful public radio station KCRW is looking to take a little bit of the pain of finding new music for its DJs, with the launch of MALCOLM, a site that lets artists submit their music for consideration -- a nice attempt at continued outreach in a medium so dominated by charts and major label interference. Bands can create profiles with images, bios and social media links, alongside up to three tracks. MALCOLM serves as a bit of a social network for the station's DJs, letting them share tracks and interact with profiles, alerting artists via email when someone has commented on or rated their listing. More information on the service, which borrows its name from KCRW's old internal record filing system, can be found in the press release after the break. Interested bands can submit songs in the source link below.
Radio station in the clear after contest-related death
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Radio_station_in_the_clear_after_contest_related_death'; Remember the 'Hold your Wee for a Wii' contest that ended with one young mother tragically dead? The Sacramento radio station has been cleared of any possible criminal charges in the case. District Attorney Jan Scully indicated that the late Mrs. Strange, 28, participated voluntarily, knew what she was getting into, and showed no signs of serious medical problems before she left. The radio station fired ten people in the aftermath of the highly publicized death, and the family's wrongful death suit, filed in January against parent company Entercom, is still pending. Their attorney, Roger Dryer, stated that he was unsurprised to see no criminal charges. "We do not believe the conduct of the individuals rose to criminal intent. It is consistent with our viewpoint from the beginning that the decision maker responsible was the management of Entercom."
'Hold Your Wee for a Wii' station, employees avoid criminal charges
So it looks like the family of that California woman who died of water intoxication after participating in a radio station-sponsored contest will only be able to find the justice they seek in civil, and not criminal, court, as the Sacramento County district attorney has decided not to file charges against 107.9 The End or any of its employees (or ex-employees, as the case may be, since many were fired as a result of the January 12th incident). In a statement released to the press, D.A. Jan Scully argued that 28-year-old single mom Jennifer Strange knew exactly what she was getting into when she signed up to compete for that Wii, and that her lack of symptoms while chugging down those two gallons of water relieved station employees of any culpability. Of course the Strange family still has the opportunity to hit The End's owner, Entercom, where it hurts, when they face the company in court to seek what will likely be millions of dollars over Strange's alleged wrongful death. Now we're no lawyers, but we've watched enough courtroom dramas to feel confident opining on the finer points of the law, and we're predicting a quiet out of court settlement here -- because even if jurors believe that the DJ's lacked malicious intent and took the proper precautions, the fact that they come off like callous buffoons during the broadcast should be enough to convince the defense that a trial is not the best option.[Via digg]
Strange family sues KDND-FM and employees for wrongful death
Yeah, you could see this one coming way back when the original tragedy actually happened, but after getting things all lined up, it seems that the family of Jennifer Lea Strange will be aiming for Sacramento-based KDND-FM, its parent company Entercom, and the employees associated with the whole "Hold your wee for a Wii" ordeal in a wrongful death lawsuit. Although on-air personalities claimed that the contestants signed "a release," that paper was apparently one that simply "granted the station permission to use the contest in its promotional materials," and the family lawyer believes that no waiver of liability was ever signed. Notably, the FCC has jumped into the investigation as well at the request of the family's attorney, as one of their suggestions is to have the station "taken off the air." Per usual, the lawsuit "seeks unspecified medical, legal, burial, and funeral costs," as well as presumably lofty sums of money to compensate for "other punitive damages," which we're fairly sure they'll end up receiving.[Thanks, Jason D.]
Radio station fires ten after Wii contest death
One of our readers called it in our comments on the original story: ten people have been fired from Sacramento's KDND 107.9, including several on-air personalities. The names of all ten have not been released, but it seems the parent company, Entercom/Sacremento, is working quickly to handle any issues of liability. Unsurprisingly, there are plenty of rumors surrounding the water-drinking contest that resulted in the death of Jennifer Strange, including one that a nurse called into the show to inform the disc jockeys and contestants that what they were doing was dangerous. All we can say is that we hope this is resolved quickly and, for the sake of the family, disappears into the void of old news stories.
