What do you do when the dump button guy is the one who’s swearing?
Dr Mumbo has been enjoying the unconventional radio emanating from Southern Cross Austereo’s Hit Network in recent days.
Traditionally, the dump button is employed by producers to protect radio stations from the public going rogue during phone-ins.
Radio stations operate on a 10-second delay. A press of the dump button, and the last 10 seconds don’t go to air, while the show goes completely live. Which also removes the safety net until the next ad break.
But these days, it seems to be more a case of the Hit Network audience needing to be protected from the producers and guests, rather than than the other way round.
First came this month’s nationally syndicated F-bomb from Todd Sampson when he proudly told the story of how his nine-year-old daughter told a fellow plane passenger who didn’t want to give up her allocated seat to the Sampson family to fuck off.
And this week saw an unfortunate incident on 2Day FM’s The Em Rusciano Radio Show With Harley Breen.
In the unfolding debacle, producer Christian Hull heard a caller’s comment agreeing with the duo, saying “for sure” as “fuck off” and hit the dump button.
Then live and undump-able, Hull somewhat unconventionally explained to Sydney listeners, live: “He said fuck off”.
Well done everyone.
3pm update: Hull later told his Facebook followers: “My voice penetrated the sound proof glass and my “Fuck Off” went to air. What a mess! My boss didn’t care. This is why I love him.”
Gotta love The Em, listen to the podcast every day.
Fabulous.
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Back in the 70s when I was a kid the head of radio content on a scots FM radio station let me sit in (he’d been a DJ on radio nordsea and still took to the microphone from time to time) and when he said “and now.. shawaddywaddy” I said “oh fuck no” … slightly too loud. Oh, the laughs we had… Didn’t get invited back.
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