Advocacy & Safety - Portland: Morning Radio Talk Show Host Threatens Bicyclists on Air

If you really want to mess with him... escort him with a fleet of cyclists that constantly moves in front of him at stop lights and signs.

In other words a large cycle club out to do this radio DJ's commute route as their daily ride.

And here I thought some of the ideas ive come up with are evil :)

After a few days he would change his route then the fun would have to be over. If you kept it up he could get you for harrassment and would easly be able to prove it. Best part of the idea though is 10 to 1 odds he lives on a nice shady road in the burbs.Perfect place to ride a bike.

The guy that runs Portland's local cycling information site, who first reported this, listened to the show yesterday. A caller apparently got through and was bragging about "taking out" a cyclist. I'm not sure how Jonathan knows, but he also reported that apparently the program's call screener has been screening out a lot of such calls.

bikeportland.org continues to cover this story, there are now four related threads on the site:

http://bikeportland.org/2006/07/17/what-should-we-do-now/
http://bikeportland.org/2006/07/17/welcome-955-listeners/
http://bikeportland.org/2006/07/14/radio-show-host-responds/
http://bikeportland.org/2006/07/14/local-radio-show-promotes-hatred-toward-cyclists/

The story has also been picked up by The Portland Mercury:

http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2006/07/radio_stations_bikebashing_bro.php

bikeportland.org continues to cover this story, there are now four related threads on the site:

http://bikeportland.org/2006/07/17/what-should-we-do-now/
http://bikeportland.org/2006/07/17/welcome-955-listeners/
http://bikeportland.org/2006/07/14/radio-show-host-responds/
http://bikeportland.org/2006/07/14/local-radio-show-promotes-hatred-toward-cyclists/

The story has also been picked up by The Portland Mercury:

http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2006/07/radio_stations_bikebashing_bro.php

Good news for portland it would seem. Hope they can keep it rolling. If they can they could do some serious damage to this shock jock and force him off the air.

Good news for portland it would seem. Hope they can keep it rolling. If they can they could do some serious damage to this shock jock and force him off the air.

Bravo!

Bravo!


I was just ontheir site and its startign to show signs of slowing down as in page loads i bet their hits have sky rocketed over the last few days.

BTW, this show may also have been on the air in your city, here's a map showing the markets this show is syndicated in:

http://www.radioplayhouse.com/images/SyndicationMap.gif

Syndication page:
http://www.radioplayhouse.com/syndication.asp

I saw this thread a few days ago and got pissed, cause its my home city that it happened in. Then I saw it on Digg.com and was very happy. almost everyone on there was very angry about this too.

Brainless DJ who made the comments:
http://www.portlandmercury.com/binary/8facc7db/news-160.jpg

His very uncontrite interview in the July 20th Portland Mercury:

Traffic Jammin'
Local Radio Host Riles up Bike Community
BY AMY JENNIGES

"This is the most mind-boggling thing I've ever dealt with in 13 years on radio," says PK, host of the nationally syndicated Playhouse morning show on Jammin 95.5 FM.

He's talking about the controversy sparked by his Thursday, July 13 show: According to a Friday morning post on the website BikePortland.org, a biker heard PK bash cyclists on the air Thursday morning, allegedly saying things like, "When I hear on TV that a cyclist has been hit and killed by a car, I laugh—I think it's funny," and, "If you are a cyclist you should know I exist, that I don't care about you. That I don't care about your life."

Almost immediately, complaints started rolling into the station. Some bikers are now debating what action to take next, in response to what they're calling PK's "hate speech."

Tim McNamara, the station's general manager, says they've gotten around 30 calls, and hundreds of emails. "I've been threatened like you wouldn't believe, people have said they're going to kill me, my family, they've quoted my home address," he says. "I feel bad, PK feels bad. But he didn't say anything illegal, and I've reprimanded him, and made him apologize."

On Monday morning's show, PK outlined his Thursday remarks. "If you're going to act like an idiot on a bike and you're going to run stop signs and pretend you're a car, and we get into a fender bender and something happens to you, I'm not going to care about you. There's the quote, you brainless dimwit." He'd had a near miss with a biker who didn't stop, he explained, and he was venting about reckless bikers.

"I specifically said, look—if you're a biker and you go 45 minutes to work and 45 minutes back, I admire you. I wish I could go 45 minutes up and down hills," PK told the Mercury on Tuesday morning, July 18. "The [bicyclists] I cannot stand are the people that have this holier-than-god attitude that I'm a bicyclist and you should slow down for me.

"Was I being harsh? Absolutely. Was I threatening? No. Do we do a comedy-based radio show? Yes. It is a five-hour standup routine and every once in a while it touches on subjects like this," PK says. He acknowledges that listeners called in with their own tales of nearly running over bikers. "They did, absolutely. Now was I giving away prizes? No. Were we telling people to run bikers over? No."

But, PK points out, no one complained when the show first aired. Instead, it's cyclists who've read his alleged comments online—and didn't hear the show—who are complaining. "Nobody called until this jackoff posted it on his website."

BikePortland.org's Jonathan Maus—who posted the original entry about PK's alleged comments—stands by what he wrote, even if he hasn't heard the broadcast. "Someone told me they happened to be listening and they told me exactly what they heard and how it made them feel," Maus says. A second cyclist corroborated the account. "There was enough innuendo and a very insensitive tone regarding cyclists, to endanger cyclists on the road. To me that's all that matters. The damage is done."

Most of the Playhouse's shows are available online in a podcast, but the show in question is not. PK says it was online initially Thursday morning, but pulled after a few minutes due to a "client issue." He's hesitant to post it now that the issue is so heated. "I've gotten nothing but hatred, so why am I going to put more of myself out there?"
http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Content?oid=45490&category=22101

New threads on bikeportland.org:
http://bikeportland.org/2006/07/19/official-response-needed-to-alleviate-tensions/
http://bikeportland.org/2006/07/19/pressure-builds-as-story-coverage-escalates/
http://bikeportland.org/2006/07/18/credibility-questioned-while-broadcast-remains-hidden/

Another update from bikeportland.org:

http://bikeportland.org/2006/07/19/program-manager-responds-wants-to-make-amends/

Program manager responds, wants to make amends
I just got off the phone with Tim McNamara. Tim is the program manager for The Playhouse radio show and a partial owner of Rose City Radio, which owns KXL-AM and KXJM 95.5.

I assumed Tim had written me off as a rogue, backstabbing blogger (this is what I had heard from other journalists that had spoken with him), but I decided to send him and P.K. one last email to see if we could work things out. I got a call-back within minutes.

Tim admitted that when he heard the comments on Thursday’s broadcast he called the station right away. Tim was absolutely appalled that the show hosts clapped at the story of a cyclist being hit.

Tim apologized profusely for what was said on the show. He said, “We all make mistakes, it’s how you deal with them and grow that matters.”

To make amends, he told me that he made P.K. apologize on-air during Monday’s “pro-bike” show and that he put P.K. on a bike with a reporter from the Willamette Week today.

I can confirm the Willy Week claim because I met with the reporter who rode with P.K. right after the ride. They did a 2-hour jaunt through downtown and it was very interesting (that’s all I can say). You can catch the story in next week’s issue.

Back to Tim.

He claims to have personally replied to 711 emails so far, fielded calls from several lawyers and from people as far away as Australia.

He repeatedly said, “What can I do to make this stop?! I will do anything you ask.” He said he would be happy to run public service announcements, give away free bikes, donate to the BTA, and so on.

Unfortunately, according to Tim, the vast majority of the emails have been “out for blood.” He read me one that said something to the effect that he should “perform euthanasia” on himself. Geez. If that’s true, please mellow out folks. Your feedback to the station has much more impact if you are sensible and level-headed.

Tim claims that he has received death threats and that a few cyclists greeted him with threatening comments outside his home early in the morning on Tuesday. Tim says he chased them down and they pushed him off, kicking and screaming as they rode away.

As for the missing recording of the broadcast: It now seems to me that if it ever does surface, the station will have to release it against their will. Tim certainly made no offer to release it himself.

Tim continues to maintain that he does not have a copy of the recording and that he pulled the podcast from the web because a bottle of Rockstar energy drink (who they have $100K in ads with) was crushed on-air and he was afraid they would get upset (the show is also viewable on TV).

I think it’s quite clear that the reason the recording has not surfaced is because they cannot handle any more heat (read the last paragraph of this new story in the Mercury).

So now what? It’s clear to me that both P.K. and Tim are very sorry and realize they have made a big mistake and I have a hunch that P.K. is starting to see cyclists in a different, more positive light. Tim, while repulsed by what he calls the “militant, violent, and threatening” bike community, seems willing to work with us to turn things around.

I also have a hunch that the word bicycle will never be said on that show again.

Now the question for the community is, do we continue to demand an official vetting of the original broadcast and keep applying pressure until the show receives a more serious, official sanction (which might be regulatory, legal, etc…)? Or do we try and cut a deal with Tim, forgive and forget, and just move on?

If we do make a deal with Tim, what should we ask for?

I’m still not sure. It’s been another long day. I think I’ll sleep on it.

Another update from bikeportland.org:

http://bikeportland.org/2006/07/19/program-manager-responds-wants-to-make-amends/

Program manager responds, wants to make amends
I just got off the phone with Tim McNamara. Tim is the program manager for The Playhouse radio show and a partial owner of Rose City Radio, which owns KXL-AM and KXJM 95.5.

I assumed Tim had written me off as a rogue, backstabbing blogger (this is what I had heard from other journalists that had spoken with him), but I decided to send him and P.K. one last email to see if we could work things out. I got a call-back within minutes.

Tim admitted that when he heard the comments on Thursday’s broadcast he called the station right away. Tim was absolutely appalled that the show hosts clapped at the story of a cyclist being hit.

Tim apologized profusely for what was said on the show. He said, “We all make mistakes, it’s how you deal with them and grow that matters.”

To make amends, he told me that he made P.K. apologize on-air during Monday’s “pro-bike” show and that he put P.K. on a bike with a reporter from the Willamette Week today.

I can confirm the Willy Week claim because I met with the reporter who rode with P.K. right after the ride. They did a 2-hour jaunt through downtown and it was very interesting (that’s all I can say). You can catch the story in next week’s issue.

Back to Tim.

He claims to have personally replied to 711 emails so far, fielded calls from several lawyers and from people as far away as Australia.

He repeatedly said, “What can I do to make this stop?! I will do anything you ask.” He said he would be happy to run public service announcements, give away free bikes, donate to the BTA, and so on.

Unfortunately, according to Tim, the vast majority of the emails have been “out for blood.” He read me one that said something to the effect that he should “perform euthanasia” on himself. Geez. If that’s true, please mellow out folks. Your feedback to the station has much more impact if you are sensible and level-headed.

Tim claims that he has received death threats and that a few cyclists greeted him with threatening comments outside his home early in the morning on Tuesday. Tim says he chased them down and they pushed him off, kicking and screaming as they rode away.

As for the missing recording of the broadcast: It now seems to me that if it ever does surface, the station will have to release it against their will. Tim certainly made no offer to release it himself.

Tim continues to maintain that he does not have a copy of the recording and that he pulled the podcast from the web because a bottle of Rockstar energy drink (who they have $100K in ads with) was crushed on-air and he was afraid they would get upset (the show is also viewable on TV).

I think it’s quite clear that the reason the recording has not surfaced is because they cannot handle any more heat (read the last paragraph of this new story in the Mercury).

So now what? It’s clear to me that both P.K. and Tim are very sorry and realize they have made a big mistake and I have a hunch that P.K. is starting to see cyclists in a different, more positive light. Tim, while repulsed by what he calls the “militant, violent, and threatening” bike community, seems willing to work with us to turn things around.

I also have a hunch that the word bicycle will never be said on that show again.

Now the question for the community is, do we continue to demand an official vetting of the original broadcast and keep applying pressure until the show receives a more serious, official sanction (which might be regulatory, legal, etc…)? Or do we try and cut a deal with Tim, forgive and forget, and just move on?

If we do make a deal with Tim, what should we ask for?

I’m still not sure. It’s been another long day. I think I’ll sleep on it.


Personally I think the cycling community should be mature about it, say appology accepted, and drop it.

I suggest initial PSAs and a daily "Bicycle Moment" feature where callers can call in and voice either negative or positive comments. Those comments should then be discussed with a positive outlook toward the end.

So if a motorist calls in and rants about "how them stinking bikes are always in the way," PK et. al. should thank the motorist and then discuss that cyclists have legal rights to the road and that motorists should learn to deal with them just like they would a slow cement truck or farm equipment.

If a cyclist calls in dissing a motorist... then again the host and any guest should discuss the issues and suggest a peaceful, legal, way for all road users to co-operate.

It may be a bit saccharin, but the goal should be to foster good relations between the cycling and motoring communities and how we all can share the road.

Heh man they realy stuck it to that radio station those guys did a bang up job

I'm currently "on vacation" in Seattle (on vacation= slave to a Bridezilla and a Groomzilla), but I've heard from friends and my housemate that cyclist/motorist-under-30-yrs-old relations right now in Portland are not at their best. I'm glad to know about the response from the station manager & DJ, but that's not going to help the current problem of physical safety of cyclists.

I think the mayor or police chief need to get on the major media outlets and remind certain drivers of what is considered criminal behavior. (Our mayor used to be police chief, so he'd be pretty credible.) I'd also like to see some PSAs that "update" people about changes that have ben made to Oregon traffic laws (as they pertain to cyclists) since they originally attended Drivers' Ed, but I thought that needed to happen long before this.

What's funny is that he apologizes and then posts letters on his website that support him and threaten cyclists with injury and death. To quote South Park: "What makes America great is that you can say one thing and do another."

"...Tim McNamara, the station's general manager, says they've gotten around 30 calls, and hundreds of emails. "I've been threatened like you wouldn't believe, people have said they're going to kill me, my family, they've quoted my home address," he says. "I feel bad, PK feels bad. But he didn't say anything illegal, and I've reprimanded him, and made him apologize."...

It's not a good feeling, being threatened and intimidated is it? Mr. McNamara asks what he can do to make this stop? Well, my own advice to him and his on-air staff is simply this: Don't dish it out, unless you can take it. Someone, somewhere, once said "Don't let your mouth write checks that your ass can't cash". Maybe these so-called "shock jocks" should be required to recite this, before every on-air shift begins.

The latest news is a statement from the Portland City Commissioner, Sam Adams:



Portland City Commissioner Sam Adams has just released an open letter to everyone in the City of Portland. Here is the text (or download the PDF):

To: The Public of the City of Portland
From: Commissioner Sam Adams
Re: Inflammatory Radio Comments

July 17, 2006

An open Letter to City of Portland:

It has been brought to my attention by several concerned members of the community that the 95.5 radio broadcast of “The Playhouse” on July 13, 2006 and July 16, 2006 included a number of inflammatory statements that could negatively impact the safety of Portland. These statements may have included sentiments that news of people dying is funny. It is not. The discussion included statements to the effect of:

“When I hear on TV that a cyclist has been hit and killed by a car, I laugh; I think it’s funny,”

“If you are a cyclist you should know I exist, that I don’t care about you. That I don’t care about your life.”

Upon first becoming the Commissioner of Transportation, I set traffic safety as my number-one priority. I believe that one death on our roads is one death too many, and in Portland, we have 10% more traffic fatalities each year than murders. Last year in America (I note that the show in question is broadcast in 12 markets), 43,200 people died in traffic crashes. This was more than any year since 1990. If the USA had shared the same success in reducing fatality rates as Australia, England, and Canada, we would have had 20,000 fewer dead people last year.

It is in this light that I wish to express my extreme concern for the statements in your show that made light of the tragedy that visits families coping with the aftermath of traffic casualties. This past year alone has brought us here in Portland an unacceptable number of tragic pedestrian and bicycle fatalities – fatalities of mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, husbands and wives. While making light of these tragedies exhibits poor taste, the main concern I hold is that the broadcast may have actually encouraged people to behave in reckless and dangerous ways towards others. While I am a strong defender of freedom of speech, incitement to violence is not afforded the same protections as other types of speech.

Through our “I Share the Road” campaign, the City is working to combat road rage and promote safety and tolerance through education, engineering, and enforcement strategies that relate to motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. This effort is led by a coalition that includes the Oregon Truckers’ Association, AAA of Oregon, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition, Trauma Nurses Talk Tough, Elders in Action, and others. We take increasing the civility on our streets seriously. As a coalition, we have pledged to challenge statements that trivialize or dehumanize the effects of road rage.

I have had a chance to listen to some edited versions of the broadcasts in question, and am shocked by some of the inappropriate commentary I have heard. However, since the Jamn 95.5 has taken the full versions of the broadcasts off of their website’s public archives I have not had the opportunity to hear the entire unedited broadcasts. Because of this, I am calling on the 95.5 management to cooperate with community requests and provide a transcript, tape, or the podcast of the show to the public. This action would either alleviate community concern or help to foster a dialogue about appropriate action 95.5 could take to assist in efforts to improve the safety of our streets.

I hope to do what I can to help this seemingly unfortunate incident into a constructive event that may lead to something positive within our community. I look forward to continuing my work with transportation advocates of all sorts, as well as radio staff, in the case that I can be of additional assistance.

Thank you,



Sam Adams
Commissioner of Transportation
City of Portland

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance also made a statement (http://www.bta4bikes.org/btablog/2006/07/19/radio-talk-a-difficult-subject/):


Radio Talk: A Difficult Subject
Posted by: Administrator
Jul 19 2006, 7:28 pm

Over the past week, I've been working behind the scenes to respond appropriately to some controversial remarks made on a local radio station, Jammin' 95.5 during their show The Playhouse. While we haven't been able to confirm the content of those remarks, we've worked with the station so that they hear we're concerned about bike safety and that we're concerned about what was reportedly said.

I've talked with PDOT, Jonathan Maus, the League of American Bicyclists, several advocates and the BTA staff.

This has been extensively reported on at BikePortland.org (lead scoop, hat tip), the Portland Mercury blog, Willamette Week's murmurs column, etc. Jonathan's been doing his best at digging into the situation and responding. And the on-line community has had a lot of ideas and has been taking it into their own hands.

The exact content of the talk show comments is a subject of much debate, and causes difficulty in deciding how to respond to the situation appropriately. What then?

First, we must remember people are known to perceive reality depending on their preexiting biases (sociology and psychology studies on who holds a knife in a video are stunning). Bicyclists hearing the show probably focused on some words and phrases, talk-show shock-jocks think they said another. While the shock-jock thinks he said something merely insulting, others heard a call to violence. We can probably all agree there was an expression of anger at a cyclist who PK thinks cut him off, and that the hosts clapped when someone reported cyclists being hit. Beyond that, we're stuck in hearsay. The show's manager says he was "appalled" about the hosts clapping for the hit cyclist and called the station immediately.

Second, the show's format is one over-the-top attempts at humor. The show's host is being paid to push people's buttons and be provocative. By Willamette Week's measure, in 2003 the station repeatedly crossed the line between provocative and inappropriate. Whether it reached the point of inciting violence or not, and I can't tell in this case, the host portrayed a lack of sympathy to cyclists who are injured while acting in certain ways. For those of us who've lost friends, families, and neighbors, or been injured ourselves while on bikes, such callousness hits us pretty personally and deeply. The hardest part of my job is responding to serious and fatal crashes, and I wish everyone treated crashes very seriously.

Third, we struggle with how much insensitive talk shows increases danger for cyclists. To many in the cycling community, this talk fosters mean, aggressive, dangerous driving and attitudes towards cyclists that threatens our very lives and safety when we're on the road. We are more fearful when we hear it, and feel that expressing those thoughts encourages an outrageous norm. To others, it's simply a jerk with a microphone stating a common road rage that this time is directed towards cyclists. Were it pervasive anti-cyclist talk, instead of the "entertainment of the week," we could clearly know what's happening and respond. Instead, it seems to have been a short-lived subject (and the host may learn from his on-bike experience, see below). Of course, it's happened before on other shows, and the BTA will respond and educate those who think it's cool to bash cyclists.

Now, we have to piece things together and move forward. When talking with Tim, the station manager, he apologized and said he doesn't condone violence toward cyclists, and wants to find some positive things to do. He's committed to making the host try biking to work a couple of times to see the world through the eyes of a cyclist (which has already happened at least once). We're asking them to do more (a share the road PSA would be a start), and the underlying problem may be the show's format and desire for conflict-driven ratings and an uneducated host, rather than a systematic anti-bicyclist effort.

I think that most folks can agree that we need to work on sharing the road safely, and the station, the BTA, and community partners can carry that message forward.

Finally, as bicycling advocates, let's express our concerns in productive ways. Threats of violence and damage to Tim and the station don't open minds and roads to cycling, they close them.

If you follow the link to the BTA site (http://www.bta4bikes.org/btablog/2006/07/19/radio-talk-a-difficult-subject/), you will also see some interesting comments from another vocal advocate on the subject.

I must say, I just don't understand the commercial radio business today at all. They (the on-air personalities) do what they do in attempt to be provocative, to "push people's buttons", and provoke a strong reaction. Do I have this part right? Then, when those reactions happen, and they feel threatened, they do very odd things, like hide behind the first amendment, or say "Oh, we just meant that in satire", or "Didn't you listen to the broadcast? You're taking my comments way out of context". Do I have this part right?

Another update from bikeportland.org:
http://bikeportland.org/2006/07/21/radio-show-update-and-thoughts/

Thanks for the update. Anyone know if this station's bottom line has been impacted?

apparently some of their advertisers pulled their ads or expressed concern. that probably helped.

Shock Jock Goes for a Ride (http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3238/7793)

Shifting Gears
Jammin' 95.5 radio host PK gets outta the PlayHouse and into the bike lane.
BY JASON SIMMS
When the first car zoomed by only about a foot to our left as we pedaled uphill from Rose City Radio on Southwest Bancroft Street to the Willamette Greenway bike path, Jammin' 95.5 on-air personality PK said solemnly, "I think I'm beginning to understand."

The radio host had just gotten his first taste of why a segment on the Thursday, July 13, program of his nationally syndicated morning show, the PlayHouse, has drawn hundreds of concerned (and occasionally threatening) emails and voicemails from bike activists and groups as far away as Australia. As first reported by Jonathan Maus on BikePortland.org the next day, PK allegedly said over the air, "If you're a cyclist, you should know that I exist, that I don't care about you, that I don't care about your life." Then he and his crew continued to voice anger toward cyclists, later applauding the news of a biker being hit by a car (see Murmurs, WW, July 19, 2006).

City Commissioner Sam Adams released an official statement on July 19 decrying PK's words, claiming they "could negatively impact the safety of Portland," a town that, although it was named "Best Overall Cycling City" by Bicycling magazine in March, saw five cyclists killed in traffic between June and August 2005 and tensions between bikers and drivers soar.

The station has refused to make public a recording of that fateful broadcast, as it does with all other episodes of the PlayHouse, and although Maus' BikePortland.org posts acknowledge that station general manager Tim McNamara apologized for the incident, PK himself had certainly made no retraction. After personally being heckled on Southeast 20th Avenue by a motorist echoing one of PK's remarks, "You're not a car," I figured the best way to get the radio host to change his tune was to get a bike between his legs (an idea first put forth by Maus).

I was surprised when PK agreed to go for a ride. I was even more surprised when, after a couple of miles into his first bike ride since he was 17 years old (I lent him my roomate's white-and-red '80s-era Centurion), it became clear to me that the host, well-known for his offensive material—often at the expense of women, the overweight or the handicapped—was a nice guy.

We stopped under a tree next to the river, and PK told me he and his six-person host team love working at the locally owned 95.5. "We're free to be ourselves," he said, toying with the light-blue bike helmet I also lent him for the ride. Yet this calm, well-spoken man in his late 20s seemed very different from the loud, acidic voice I'd heard on the radio (the PlayHouse earned three WW Rogue of the Week nominations in 2003). He admits, "Sometimes I get so heated up in the moment that I don't articulate as well as I should."

That was the case Thursday, July 13. PK says he never directly encouraged hatred or violence and merely made a poor joke. But he admits the joke went too far: "It was one of those times where you look back and go, yeah, I was an idiot there," he says. "To the people that were affected by it, I absolutely apologize."

I believed PK's apology was sincere, but in order to make him really sorry, I led him downtown, where road tensions are highest. As we turned onto Southwest Ash Street, the radio host said, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little afraid." PK's face would have betrayed any boasts of composure, anyway, as we rode through heavy midday traffic on Southwest Broadway, dodging opening car doors and delivery trucks in the bike lane. At one point, PK stood frozen at a green light until it changed. He later told me he was worried that someone making a right turn wouldn't see him.

"That was a workout," an out-of-breath PK huffed as we rolled back into the radio station parking lot two hours later. "No wonder I would get the death threats. You guys got balls," he told me. "In my car, I never looked at those intersections as the least bit dangerous, and you guys just zip through them completely fearless." I told him that for experienced cyclists like me (and freelance photographer Chris Ryan, who rode with us) the ride was actually pretty tame.

When we began the journey, PK asked if we should ride on the street or the sidewalk. He also said his on-air comments were directed at "bicyclists who think they're cars." But by the end of the ride, PK had shifted gears, saying he gets angry with cyclists for the same reason cyclists get angry at cars: "For not... being careful, not slowing down and being cautious."

Although these comments could be taken as lip service from a professional fast-talker trying to keep his job, ultimately, I think PK is being genuine. And even if he was just making nice for the media, the fact that he went on a photographed urban bike ride, one which he admitted on the air the next day was "a lot of fun" and brought him to "the middle of the road" on the issue, might help settle down any fans his words whipped into a frenzy and undo some of the damage done by his broadcast—which BikePortland.org's Maus claims is the goal of many in the cyclist community.

What's more, after our ride we also talked about how PK spends $100 a week on gas to commute to work from Portland's western suburbs. It had crossed his mind to try to ride, he said, but busy Southwest Barbur Boulevard worried him. Next week, I'm going to meet him at his house at 1 am and bike with him to the station for work (yes, I'm completely serious). As an influential drive-time personality, PK could act as an example for many people who have never tried bike commuting. If his tirade against cyclists ultimately turns him into one, I think it will be one of the best possible outcomes of his reckless and deplorable broadcast.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally Published on 7/26/2006

Blue, you beat me to posting the WW article. You left out the pic of PK on the bike, though.

http://www.wweek.com/photos/3238/culture93.jpg

There's also a new post at bikeportland.org: http://bikeportland.org/2006/07/26/what-is-a-fitting-end-to-radio-saga/

Again, thanks for keeping us east-coasters, and everyone else, updated.

As for this new development, I'll reserve comment for now.

he doesn't look like he's enjoying himself in that pic...

DudeBigmouth got a taste of personal responsibility, held accountable for his actions and ate some humble pie, tasty tasty humble pie. Nice to see folks using public bands held accountable.

A good conclusion, even if he never rides again he'll have respect for the more vulnerable road users, and if he's tired of being a plushtoy for the shock jock circuit maybe he'll he'll try to find a job or something. If not, at least he's no longer a liability waiting to happen on that one subject.

the best possible outcome. Congragulations, Blue!

It's not just cyclists. Anyone who "gets pumped up" thinking about someone else getting hurt is truly sick and in need of strong medication and outpatient therapy. It goes without saying such people are not fit to be on radio.