MEDIA ADVISORY


MARCH 9, 2005



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



Contacts:

Veronica S. Jung, (646) 338-2894

Kai Yu, (914) 882-1279



COALITION AGAINST HATE MEDIA (CAHM) OPEN LETTER

URGES SPRINT CORPORATION TO WITHDRAW ALL ADVERTISING

FROM HOT 97 WQHT-FM RADIO





WHO: The Coalition Against Hate Media (CAHM) is a diverse coalition of
national and community-based organizations that:

· formed immediately following the production and repeated
broadcast of the 'Tsunami Song' by Hot 97 WQHT-FM ("Hot 97"), a
subsidiary of Emmis Communications ("Emmis");

· organized protest rallies outside Hot 97 studios on Jan. 28th and
Feb. 14th, 2005; and

· participated in "Rally 4 Hip Hop" organized by the Hip Hop
Coalition for Social Justice on March 4, 2005.



WHAT: CAHM has issued an open letter urging the Sprint Corporation to
fully withdraw all advertising from Hot 97 and all other subsidiaries
of Emmis. Sprint can demonstrate corporate leadership by withdrawing
all advertising as requested. A copy of the letter is attached.



MISSION STATEMENT

The Coalition Against Hate Media (CAHM) is a diverse coalition of
national and community-based organizations whose mission is to promote
equality and balanced representation. We denounce messages of hate
that discriminate against people based upon race, ethnicity, gender,
sexual orientation, disability, or religious background. We actively
hold accountable media corporations that seek to benefit from the
promotion of discrimination, violence and hate.




MEMBERS (LIST IN FORMATION)

Artists & Activists United for Peace Coalition

Asian Americans For Equality (AAFE)

Asian & Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS (APICHA)

Asian Media Watch

Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO NY Chapter

Black Waxx Nation, Inc.

Cardozo Law School APALSA

Columbia Law School APALSA

David Wong Support Committee

International Action Center

Justice for James Yee Ad-Hoc Committee

Korean American Association of Greater New York (KAAGNY)

Korean American Coalition, Dallas/Ft. Worth

Korean American Coalition, Los Angeles

Korean American League for Civic Action (KALCA)

Korean Resource Center (KRC), Los Angeles

Korean American Association of Greater New York (KAAGNY)

Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC), Chicago

Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York (KALAGNY)

Latin American Integration Center (LAIC)

National Association of Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)

National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) AFL-CIO, Branch 294

National Coalition for Civil Rights

National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC)

New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE)

New York University Law's APALSA

Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) - Dallas/Fort Worth

Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) - Los Angeles

Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) - Long Island

Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) - New Jersey

Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) - New York

Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) - Westchester/Hudson Valley

Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) - Phoenix

Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) - South Florida

Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) - National

People Advocacy Group

The Sikh Coalition

St. John's University School of Law Asian American Law Students
Association

United States India Political Action Committee

Voters Speak Up

Women Against Violence In Entertainment (WAVE)

World War Three Arts Collective

Yale Law School Pacific Islander/Asian/Native American Students
Association

Yang Bernhard Entertainment, Inc.

Young Korean American Service and Education Center (YKASEC)







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




March 9, 2005



Mr. Gary D. Forsee

Chairman and CEO,

Sprint Corporation and Sprint PCS Group

Sprint World Headquarters

6200 Sprint Parkway

Overland Park, KS 66251



Dear Mr. Forsee:



We, the Coalition Against Hate Media ("CAHM"), a national alliance
of organizations and individuals, request that Sprint withdraw all its
advertising from the New York radio station, Hot 97 WQHT-FM ("Hot
97").



CAHM makes this request because Sprint's withdrawal from the Miss
Jones in the Morning Show is inadequate. By continuing to advertise in
other timeslots, Sprint undeniably supports the economic growth of Hot
97 and its parent corporation, Emmis Communications ("Emmis").



Between Jan. 18 and Jan. 21, 2005, Hot 97 repeatedly broadcasted the
"Tsunami Song." This is yet another in a series of deliberate and
exploitative programs broadcast by Emmis and its subsidiaries. Past
examples of such programming include:



· 2001: Hot 97 morning personality Troi "Star" Torrain calls
Jennifer Lopez a "spic princess" and "rice-and-bean-eater".

· Feb. 25, 2001: Hot 97 invites rivals Lil Kim and Kiam "Capone"
Holley to speak on the air further escalating tensions between the two,
resulting in a shootout between their entourages outside Hot 97's
headquarters.

· Aug. 27, 2001: Hot 97 morning personalities Troi "Star"
Torrain and Buc Wild ridicule Aaliyah's death 2 days after the tragedy.


· Oct. 2002: DJ Funkmaster Flex physically attacks disc jockey
Steph Lova.

· Week of Jan. 17, 2005 : For four days, the Miss Jones In the
Morning Show plays a racist "parody" called the "Tsunami Song"
despite public protests. The song mocks the deaths of
hundreds-of-thousands of people, using racial slurs such as "ch*nk"
and "chinamen." The song also ridicules the "Africans drowning"
and children being sold into child slavery.

· On Jan. 20, 2005: Miss Info, a Korean-American co-host on the
Miss Jones show, voices her opposition to the song on air. Miss Jones
and then co-host Todd Lynn react by verbally attacking Miss Jones on
public airwaves, with hateful comments such as, "You feel superior,
probably because you're Asian." (Miss Jones) and "I'm gonna start
shooting Asians" (Todd Lynn).

· March 1, 2005: Shooting takes place outside Hot 97's
headquarters during an interview with rapper 50 Cent. A man is shot
and injured when members of 50 Cent's and the Game's entourages
open fire on each other.






The latest incident of March 2005 demonstrates the divisiveness and
violence that Emmis' hate-based programming incites in our
communities.



CAHM notes and applauds Sprint's shifting of its advertising out of
the Morning Show timeslot. However, CAHM urges Sprint to withdraw all
advertising from all time slots of Hot 97 FM. The rationale for this
demand is simple: By withdrawing all advertising Sprint can demonstrate
responsible corporate leadership and gain widespread support in our
communities.



If Sprint is in fact serious about showing its support for our
communities, Sprint will cease all advertising on Hot 97 and all other
subsidiaries of Emmis on or before Wednesday, March 16, 2005. Please
be advised that our coalition will take further action in the event
that Sprint fails to meet our request. Kindly direct all
communications to:



Coalition Against Hate Media (CAHM)

c/o Bruce Feffer, Esq.

61 Broadway, Suite 1050

New York, NY 10006

Phone: 212.269.7343



We look forward to your response.



Sincerely,



Coalition Against Hate Media (CAHM)

Ben Chan, Co-coordinator

Veronica S. Jung, Co-coordinator



Steering Committee

Kuttin Kandi, Hip Hop Coalition for Social Justice

Kari Kokka, Japanese American Citizen League, JACL-NY

Leo Lee, Organization of Chinese Americans - NY

Gloria Lum, Nat'l Assoc. of Letter Carriers AFL-CIO-294, APA Labor
Alliance AFL-CIO NY

Usavior Tylan Washington, Artists & Activists United for Peace, Black
Waxx Records

Esther Yang, Voters Speak Up, Coalition Against Injustice

Kai Yu, Asian Media Watch

PC Cheng

Christopher W. Chan, Attorney at Law



Advisory Committee

Deepa Iyer, South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT)

May Lin, Columbia University

Rupa Parekh, South Asian American Voting Youth (SAAVY)




Members (List in Formation)

Artists & Activists United for Peace Coalition

Asian Americans For Equality (AAFE)

Asian & Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS (APICHA)

Asian Media Watch

Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO NY Chapter

Black Waxx Nation, Inc.

Cardozo Law School APALSA

Columbia Law School APALSA

David Wong Support Committee

International Action Center

Justice for James Yee Ad-Hoc Committee

Korean American Association of Greater New York (KAAGNY)

Korean American Coalition, Dallas/Ft. Worth

Korean American Coalition, Los Angeles

Korean American League for Civic Action (KALCA)

Korean Resource Center (KRC), Los Angeles

Korean American Association of Greater New York (KAAGNY)

Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC), Chicago

Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York (KALAGNY)

Latin American Integration Center (LAIC)

National Association of Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)

National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) AFL-CIO, Branch 294

National Coalition for Civil Rights

National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC)

New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE)

New York University Law's APALSA

Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) - Dallas/Fort Worth

Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) - Los Angeles

Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) - Long Island

Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) - New Jersey

Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) - New York

Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) - Westchester/Hudson Valley

Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) - Phoenix

Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) - South Florida

Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) - National

People Advocacy Group

The Sikh Coalition

St. John's University School of Law Asian American Law Students
Association

United States India Political Action Committee

Voters Speak Up

Women Against Violence In Entertainment (WAVE)

World War Three Arts Collective

Yale Law School Pacific Islander/Asian/Native American Students
Association

Yang Bernhard Entertainment, Inc.

Young Korean American Service and Education Center (YKASEC)




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