[BC] More stupid listener tricks

[Reader]

Opie & Anthony Fan Gets an Earful Over Ambush
By 
<http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/story/372633p-316952c.html>RICHARD 
HUFF
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS TV EDITOR

A day after WABC/Ch. 7 correspondent Anthony Johnson was ambushed by 
a fan of the Opie and Anthony show on XM Satellite Radio, a station 
official said they're taking precautions to ensure employees' safety.

Separately, the radio hosts - Gregg (Opie) Hughes and Anthony Cumia - 
told listeners Wednesday that they were calling off their "Assault on 
the Media" campaign, saying the incident with Johnson had gone too far.

It all started Tuesday morning when a man walked up behind Johnson 
with an Opie and Anthony sign and sounded an air horn near the reporter's ear.

Viewers didn't see the incident, although they heard the horn.

Ch. 7 "is going to do whatever necessary to assure the safety of our 
crew," assistant news director Bill McFarland said Wednesday.

McFarland wouldn't discuss whether Johnson was injured in the 
incident. He was not on the air Wednesday.

However, New Jersey's acting governor, Richard Codey, released a 
statement Tuesday saying the air-horn blast could result in 
"permanent hearing damage for the reporter who was harassed."

Codey also said that encouraging fans to intervene in live news shows 
was "inappropriate and dangerous."

Johnson was reporting on the snow in Ocean, N.J., during the 
incident. At the time, even his on-air colleagues had no idea he'd 
been attacked. Indeed, after the segment, co-anchor Steve Bartlestein 
joked about Johnson's hat.

Opie and Anthony couldn't be reached for comment.

"This appears to be the unfortunate and irresponsible act of one 
individual," said an XM spokesman. "We do not condone this act."

On their Web site and on the air, Opie and Anthony repeatedly told 
listeners - who they referred to as "pests" - not to swear and not to 
get into fights with correspondents or producers during the campaign.

It was the same campaign that got a guy on the air during an Arthur 
Chi'en report at WCBS/ Ch. 2. Chi'en, frustrated with the commotion 
behind him, dropped an F-bomb. He was fired by Ch. 2 and now works at 
WPIX/Ch. 11.

Other stations have faced the disruptions during live shots, though 
in most cases, they've simply pulled away from the shot when the O&A 
fans turned up.

The Johnson incident, however, was the first time the fan took it this far.

In his statement, Codey said the person who "committed this act 
should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."


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