Page 18 - IAV Digital Magazine #426

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Arizona Radio Station Stops Airing Advice On Hiding Child Pornography
By Bill Chappel - NPR
Most radio listeners who hear a public service announce- ment about child pornography would expect it to focus on fighting crime and stopping abuse. But for at least two years, the audience of an Arizona radio station instead heard tips on avoid- ing prosecution over possessing photos of "naked juveniles."
After a public outcry that included a local TV report that drew the notice of the local sheriff — and reportedly drew the ire of advertisers — the station dubbed Cave 97.7 has now ceased airing the PSA that was recorded by Paul Lotsof, the self- declared CAVEMANager of the country music station.
"In many cases, the penalty for posses- sion of pictures is worse than the penalty for murder," Lotsof stated in the PSA. "You should understand that your Internet provider could report you to the police if they catch you looking at a website featuring naked juveniles. The police then enter your house and seize your comput- er."
Lotsof offered practi- cal advice, telling anyone possessing such material how they could "save yourselves and your family a ton of grief, and save the tax- payers of Arizona a lot of money" — not by refusing to take part in an illegal enterprise, but by avoiding being caught doing so.
In interviews with the media, Lotsof has said he's against Arizona's law that punishes those who possess child pornography with a minimum of 10 years in prison for each violation.
"There's no picture in the world that's that dangerous," Lotsof said, accord- ing to a report by local TV news sta- tion KVOA earlier this week.
Within a day of that TV report airing, public outrage poured forth over the PSA — and the local sheriff said the PSA "has now been taken off of the air."
The decision was prompted by threats to Lotsof's advertis- ers, the AP reports.
The station, with the call letters KAVV, broadcasts in an area that includes Benson, east of Tucson. On its web- site, the station says
it has a policy of air- ing one public serv- ice announcement each hour. And for around two years, local officials say, the station broad- cast Lotsof's mes- sage about hiding child pornography.
Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre told The Associated Press that the announce- ment was protected under the First Amendment. "This individual just hap- pens to have a plat- form that maybe others don't and is advocating beliefs that are personally repugnant to me," McIntyre told the news service.
Cochise County
Sheriff Mark Dannels said he found it "very disturbing to know that a member of our local media, who should be one of the responsible groups of peo- ple to provide factual informa- tion to our pub- lic to keep them safe, is promoting and encouraging criminal behav- ior."
"This is a dis- gusting and unacceptable public service announcement
and this type of propaganda encour- ages evil behavior," Dannels said.
Replying to the sheriff's message on Facebook, one woman who lives in the area wrote that she'd heard the messages for three years, not just two. She went on to say, " it was every night about the same time, a couple times a night, at least on the nights I worked."
The woman con- cluded, "I thought it was completely inappropriate then but didn't know how to make them stop. Please do some- thing!"
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