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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl- locarabs14091401sep14.story?coll=orl-news-headlines-local Critics: Radio shows fuel hate By Anthony Colarossi Sentinel Staff Writer September 14, 2001 As Central Floridians crawled through morning traffic Thursday, a talk-radio host told his listeners that Muslims at "the mosque on Goldenrod" were celebrating Tuesday's terrorist attacks on America. A talk-show caller related the tale of a melee at the University of Central Florida prompted by rejoicing Arab-Americans. Neither incident occurred. There was no celebration. And there was no fight. The airing of anonymous callers making unchecked claims about local Muslims celebrating terror has prompted a debate on the role of talk radio at a sensitive time. Muslims say they are receiving death threats prompted by the shows and false notions that they support or had something to do with the attacks. A prominent media researcher says those with the access to communicate far and wide have a responsibility not to spread rumors. But one radio-show host says false reports aren't his problem. "What am I supposed to do? Edit out everything they say?" said Shannon Burke, whose Thursday morning show on 540 AM (WFLA) included the statement about the mosque. "It's a show about opinions." Burke said he had two callers phone in accounts of celebration at the mosque on Goldenrod Road. As it turned out, one caller was confused by television coverage that abruptly cut from a segment on the mosque to Palestinians cheering in the Middle East. But another caller stated the celebration as fact; Burke repeated it on the air but said he qualified it by saying, "If it were true, it would be disgusting and un-American." Once members of the Islamic Society of Central Florida told him the claim was false, Burke said, he corrected it. Deputy sheriffs have regularly patrolled the mosque and adjacent school since Tuesday morning's tragedy because of threats of violence. Officers reported no celebrating. Self-restraint urged "I'm not a journalist," Burke said. "I'm a talk-show host. The only thing I edit out of my program are profanities." Joseph N. Cappella, a professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, said that although many talk-show hosts don't adhere to the same professional standards print or broadcast journalists do, some discretion should be exercised at times like this. "At this time in the United States, I think we all need to take a deep breath and think twice about what we say and what we claim," said Cappella, who has conducted several studies on political talk radio. That self-restraint, he said, should be used by media personalities and "certainly people in the public domain providing information of any sort." Cappella said hosts could maintain spontaneity on their shows and still avoid spreading incendiary or false information by sorting through the facts. "They could not repeat" rumors, he said. "They could say, 'I want to hear from other callers who have seen this too.' " Jim Philips, a popular afternoon talk-show host on 104.1 FM (WTKS), also said he wouldn't censor callers -- but said he avoids repeating unfounded claims. Still, Philips said he is proud of talk radio's venue as a wry, unfettered forum. "We don't operate under the same rules as a newspaper," he said. "The policy is to allow people on the air to speak their minds." Imam Muhammad Musri, president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, said misinformation such as the celebration claim only stokes anger directed at people solely because of ethnicity or religion. "They can say anything they want and nobody can hold them accountable," Musri said. "The Muslim community is deeply hurt" by the acts of terrorism in New York and Washington. 'Flat-out didn't happen' UCF officials also were angry at misinformation broadcast on talk radio. A caller to WFLA described a fight on campus involving Muslims -- something UCF officials and police say didn't occur. "That just flat-out didn't happen," said UCF spokesman Dean McFall, who called the station's news director Thursday when he heard about the broadcast statement. He called the unchecked airing of such statements "reprehensible." "We need to recognize what talk shows are," McFall said. "They're not news. They're entertainment." Tom Benson, WFLA's program director, said the station's listeners ought to know the difference between news and the banter in a talk-show forum. Still, the practice of broadcasting statements without checking facts frightens Musri. "I know you can't stop people from saying what they want to say," he said, "but these are utter lies." Anthony Colarossi can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or 407-420-6218. Copyright © 2003, Orlando Sentinel Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. 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