MEGHAN GUATTERY and MAGGIE GILROY
Staff Writer and Editor in Chief
For each home men’s hockey game, Fredonia’s campus radio stations (WCVF/WDVL) and television station (WNYF) collaborate to provide play-by-play commentary and video coverage for televised broadcast.
However, on Saturday, Oct. 26, when the Blue Devils faced off against the Oswego Lakers, the commentary covered much more than slapshots and penalties. Two commentators, a student and alumnus, made inappropriate comments that went against FCC policy, with the intention of being humourous.
A negative reaction to the comments was expressed by both Fredonia alumni and Oswego students via Twitter.
At the beginning of the third period, WNYF-TV staff cut the audio from the program. They displayed the words, “We apologize for the slander,” on the screen. In addition, they issued an immediate apology for the comments on social media as well as on-air.
The apology on the Facebook page for WNYF-TV reads “We apologize for the comments made during tonight’s hockey broadcast. We do not condone the actions of the broadcasters involved and they will be spoken to accordingly.”
“I think they acted very appropriately under the circumstances,” WCVF/WDVL advisor Laura Johnson, associate professor of communication, said about the WNYF-TV’s choice to cut the audio. “They did not have the chance to get any consensus from any professionals at the university. They made the decision to pull it basically on their own.”
The commentators were instructed by Johnson not to speak in regard to the situation. Johnson also asked that their names not be revealed, as the commentators have been spoken to and proper discipline is being implemented.
It is WCVF/WDVL’s policy that commentators who break FCC rules will be banned indefinitely from their positions, therefore both commentators are banned indefinitely from calling the games. Complete disciplinary action from WCVF/WDVL is still in process. Both commentators were understanding of the action taken against them.
“It was an unfortunate situation and we handled it in the most professional way that we possibly could,” said Cassandra De Luise, general manager of WNYF.
Krystina Ventry, WCVF News Director, and Brendan Hoare, PR Director for WNYF-TV, are currently filling in for the “color commentary” segment. Jerry Reilly, Sports Information Director, has expressed interest in filling in for the “play by play” segment.
“Since then, WNYF and FRS have devised a publicity strategy so that we can collect ourselves and make sure that neither of us are hurt by the situation,” said De Luise.
The strategy will focus on timely responses to situations such as the one on Oct. 26. It will also emphasize communication between the two stations to ensure that both are aware of the actions of their commentators.
“You can never really be sure what will happen — that’s part of our jobs,” said Meghan Devine, general manager of FRS. “You never know what will happen and it’s all about handling things appropriately, and I think that, like Cassie said, we devised a way that if this ever is to happen again, which it shouldn’t based on how we’re running this, it would be fixed in a timely fashion without having to go out of proportion.”
Just after the event occurred, Johnson sent a letter to the Oswego athletic faculty.
“I am writing to apologize for the content of the broadcast and to say that WNYF-TV was in no way responsible for the unprofessional comments made over the air by the radio announcers,” said Johnson. “WNYF was correct to pull the plug on the audio broadcast, in my opinion … I explained to the entire group that broadcasters get in trouble when they forget the purpose of broadcast. In this case, the focus should have been on the game but the commentary resembled the comments of a rowdy audience rather than professional broadcasters.”
The apology was received by Athletic Director Susan Viscomi as well as men’s hockey coach Edward Gosek. Viscomi expressed her appreciation of the action taken by members of Fredonia media in a recent email interview.
“I am replying to let you know that both Coach Gosek and I received a letter of apology from Ms. Johnson,” said Viscomi. “Oswego State appreciates the swift and decisive action that was taken and we now consider the matter closed.”
WNYF-TV also received an email from WTOP-TV, the Oswego TV station, stating that it understands that situations such as this happen and the situation will not be taken personally by the station.
The staff at WCVF have already begun developing a plan for a contract system to prevent these kinds of errors in the future.
“It will be for everybody, especially the on-air announcers, just to remind them that in general we don’t make fun of other people or communities,” said Johnson. “By having someone sign the contract, you know that they have really thought about it.”
Johnson is optimistic that this experience will better the students in the long run.
“The thing that I have admired is that the TV and radio stations have pulled together and are trying to fix this in a professional manner and work together,” said Johnson. “I’m completely impressed with how the students have responded. I expect that this will help them further develop their professional behavior as broadcasters.”
“The entire thing has been a learning experience, especially with two student groups that have been working so closely together in the past,” said Devine. “We had a strong connection in the past and we’re obviously working to make this continue as a strong future.”