More Radio Hoaxes • A Chronology of Classic Radio Hoaxes

On the heels of the recent Radio hoax where two Miami DJs placed a phone call to the President of Venezuela and used sound bites to impersonate Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro, comes a new one from New Zealand.

Ian Stables, an afternoon “shock jock”, for 91ZM, apparently convinced 6 people they had won a dream date with actor Tom Cruise.

He rounded them all up and drove them 6 1/2 hours in a station vehicle to New Plymouth where he unceremoniously revealed to the “winners” that it had all been just a little joke. As their reward, the were driven to McDonald's for a meal and put up in a hotel for the night.

One of the victims, Becky Forsey, is not very happy about being taken advantage. It cost her $150 dollars to get back home and she's asking the station to reimburse her. M and management said they were considering it. (Gee, that should be a no-brainer.)

It's one thing to have some fun at the expense of the President of a country. Afterall, we all like to see celebrities and big shots get their due. But, taking advantage of an ordinary person by building up their hopes, dragging them hundreds of miles away, wasting their time and then incidentally informing them it was all “a joke”, is not only mean-spirited, it's callous.

I've been on the Radio a long time and during the course of my career, I've been responsible or at least partly responsible for my share of Radio stunts. But, they were never hateful and they were never costly to someone. You don't prove you're a Radio Personality by how many listeners you can screw. If that's the only way you can get ratings, then you're just demonstrating how empty your act really is.

Got an opinion? Drop me an email: radio.guide@about.com

- Corey Deitz

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