UPDATED: Rick Jensen Getting Paid To Shill For Copeland
That is what I’m trying to find out, because the shilling is frankly over the top. To get to the bottom of “Jensen-gate” I’ve written to a contact in the WDEL sales department.
Bill,
Is Charlie Copeland paying to have Rick Jensen advertise for him in the body of his show? If so, shouldn’t Jensen make a point of stating that he is working for Charlie Copeland when he says “Charles Copeland, running for Lt. Gov, saved the blue water wind project” as well as offering other lavish but anti-factual praise.
Thanks for Checking,
Jason
In an email John Kowalko points out why Jensen’s anti-factual praise for Copeland is inappropriate.
Dear all,
Today’s Jensen broadcast and the reference to Copeland’s involvement with the BWW deal was particularly galling. Some of the credit for making the deal happen has been enhanced and exagerrated regarding other individuals but Copeland worked subtlely and obviously against the Power Purchase Agreement and deserves absolutely no credit for this deal being consumnated. Harris and he held very strong misgivings about the project and I have yet to see that attitude change.
John K.
Emphasis added.
Please call or fax WDEL’s business office at and ask if Rick Jensen is being paid to insert anti-factual adds for Charlie Copeland in the body of his talk segments.
WDEL Business Offices – Phone: 302-478-2700 Fax: 302-478-0100
I got an email from Liz Allen about this. Liz was royally pissed and for totally good reason. I think this is something Rick definitely needs to answer for. This is so fucking ridiculous.
I’ll update with the WDEL business line for people who want to call and ask if Jensen is getting paid for his ridiculous shilling for Copeland.
I hadn’t noticed; perhaps I’ve become numbed to it by the incessant repetition that John Carney saved the BWW deal.
Are you telling me that Rick Jensen told listeners that Charlie Copeland saved/supported the wind farm without acknowledging a) Rick is lying his head off, and b) doing it for a check from Charlie, and neither of them was upfront about that? If so, Jensen should be fired and Copeland should be thrown out of politics. Copeland’s behind the back tactics to kill the wind project are well known. I want to know what WDEL’s management says. Stay on them.
Come on with the Peyton Place bullshit! Jensen doesn’t have to get paid to support Copeland!
It’ boils down to should WDEL or any other radio station allow their host to inject directly or indirectly their support for political candidates?
Call Julian “ Pete” Booker ECO of Delmarva Broadcasting Company. (302) 478-2700. Fuck just e-mail him pbooker@dbc1.com
Jason :
“All I could turn up was a little information about a shadowy figure known as Julian H “Pete” Booker. Booker appears to be the President of Delmarva Broadcasting and the President of the Wilmington Rotary. He is a RNC contributor and other than that he has a very low web profile. If anyone knows anything about Mr. Booker, I’d be interested in hearing about it. I’ll keep looking at if it appears that Booker is a Wharton contributor – maybe the Department of elections should know about all the free advertising he is giving to the Wharton campaign.”
I was shocked at Jensons propaganda and quickly dashed off an email to him. Jenson’s propaganda must be stopped. Not only did he attribute saving “blue water” to Charlie Copeland he plugged that Copeland is running for Lt. Gov. as part of his introduction of Jim Lenard of Blue Water.
But that is only the beginning of his outrageous opinion passed off as fact.
He stated that “Tom Gordon “picked” his Judge! Everyone in this country knows no defendant picks their judge!!!!!
He stated that “Tom Gordon was going to bring back Sherry Freeberry,” another out right lie.
This isn’t the first time Jenson has “intimated untruths, or out right frothing at the mouth lies”, he has done it since I began listening to “talk radio in 2000”. He lied again and again about Iraq and WMD.
Jenson is a right wing political hack job for WDEL., the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce and right wing commentary. Many of you know how some citizens have been in opposition to that “one call per two shows a week” bs, which was insituted by Jenson when he was program director.
Since I made my rare call to WDEL this morning on Mascitti, couldn’t call Rick again on his show oday. If you don’t believe this is there way of “keeping us from calling them on their bs, think again”.
The ratings at WDEL are so low, they are now giving away “free gas”, to get more listeners! The only free gas coming from WDEL is that expelled from Jenson’s mouth on a daily basis.
Booker claims he is not involved in the day to day operations of WDEL, so I will get the email address for Mike Reath, the guy supposedly in charge.
I encourage all democrats running for office~~~if you must put ads on WDEL, in your contract state, “my ads are only to be aired on the morning and evening drives”, do not place my ad on the Jenson “mock radio show”.
No matter what you think personally of Tom Gordon, (I am going to support him) because I believe the Bush regime did send Connoly to “take out any democrat that could move up politically”. The fact that the Court threw out those bogus allegations, freeing Gordon to run for office again, well I think that when Gordon is elected, he will be crossing every “i” and “t” double. I believe he was great as NCC executive, and never believed the lies spewed by the News Journal or his detractors.
I would encourage Tom Gordon not to ever appear on WDEL, the most biased, unfair, undemocratic radio station in the Delaware Valley…thats my personal opinion.
Here it is: Mike Reith: miker@radiocenter.com.
Let him hear from you!
I hope this doesn’t confuse you lefties, but no one on the right side of the aisle wants to claim Jensen either…
what are you so pissed about? jensen is a personality, not a journalist. he is no different than stern, limbaugh, hannity, etc. he can say what he wants.
and bill isnt going to have any info for you, he’s a salesman.
arthur // Jul 14, 2008 at 10:22 pm
” jensen is a personality, not a journalist. he is no different than stern, limbaugh, hannity, etc. he can say what he wants.”
No different from the bloggers or those who comment! If Jensen were bashing Copeland he would be hero !
Rick go ahead and bash Copeland about you know what!
Kilroy is kidding of course. I’m sure he sees a big difference between someone on the radio lying to promote a political candidate and a commenter on a blog posting some bullshit.
I hope he does anyway.
before the shows on WDEL and on the bumpers they say “the views expressed on the >>>> show do not reflect those of WDEL….”
if he was humping markells leg you would be wanting him to be enshrined in the radio hall of fame.
Such bullshit Art.
If Jensen is getting paid to shill for Copeland he should disclose it and you know it.
The ability of the species homo-republicanus to live in perpetual state of denial is truly breathtaking sometimes.
This is a great post. Rick Jensons always prmotes who he wants in office.
I think it is os wrong to do so Over Public Airwaves .
Can anyone say FCC ?
Mr. Booker won’t do a thing. In fact, due to all af the above comments I can bet you that Rick and AL have ,or will be coached by a legal team on how to walk the line.
Lets call the FCC.
Not just us . Could this site start the the process with a letter/ email to the FCC that we all could follwo ?
jason – is he getting paid or is this a theory?
That’s what I’d like to get to find out. The shilling is so strident and full of anti-factual information that it leads me to believe that he is getting some kind of payoff.
what is he saying that is a lie?
Good luck with that FCC thing. Talk shows are considered entertainment. El Rushbo promotes candidates he likes and attacks those he doesn’t every day.
“… and never believed the lies spewed by the News Journal or his detractors. …”
Really, Liz? Could you list those “lies” for me?
“Talk shows are considered entertainment”
Al you are correct. You entertain me almost every morning. I listened to Jensen a couple of times, a long time ago but decided I am too old to raise my blood pressure on purpose Had I heard him say that Mr. Copeland had any positive influence on the advance of Windpower for Delaware I probably would have blown an artery. I was there at every hearing and testified. Mr Copeland sat stone-faced through all of it .
A simple question of any of the participants by Mr. Copeland would have shown that he was at least interested.
However, as a patriotic American I would defend Mr. Jensons right to say what he wants to.
If he gets libelous, sue him.
Thats the American way. Lying is not a crime. The market place will eventually take care of the these guys
Al: entertainment and lying are two different issues. He lied, outright. Interesting everytime someone makes a comment on the Mock Radio Shock Jocks, you become entertainers. I dont buy that silly cover.
Are you saying that everything you say “could be a lie” “is a lie”. No, of course not.
Most people don’t know that “talk radio is meant to be entertainment”, many get their “news” from you guys. When lies are presented as factual, coupled with the one call per week for two shows….where and what recourse do citizens have to call you “on the lie at that moment”. Are we supposed to wait until next week and go back in history.
Lying is not a crime but it is morally repugnant.
Lets hope the “marketplace” will take care of Jenson, but I doubt it very much. All the complaints lodged against Jenson over the last 8 years produced nothing.
If the management were so concerned about Rick and his right wing take, why have they let all this time lapse without a co-partner. I remember Gerry Fulcher had the guts and courage to call him a “liar” on the air. Look what happened to him.
“Most people don’t know that “talk radio is meant to be entertainment”, ”
those would be the same people who read their news in people, Us, national enquirer, etc.
Lying is not a crime but it is morally repugnant.
…..correct !!!
“Most people don’t know that “talk radio is meant to be entertainment”, many get their “news” from you guys.”
Sure, but there are a hell of a lot of people who get their news from Stephen Colbert, the Daily Show, and Rolling Stone.
Liz: I was wondering what lies the News Journal printed about Gordon.
I used Limbaugh as an example for a reason. If “lying” (or giving a political party’s spin) were actionable, he would have been off the air years ago. What it boils down to is that you disagree with the “facts” that his side puts out. So do I. But the idea that people should be pulled off the air because you say so is a little dictatorial, don’t you think? If you could pull the plug, so could anyone else.
“If the management were so concerned about Rick and his right wing take, why have they let all this time lapse without a co-partner.”
Why on earth would they be “concerned about his right-wing take”? Talk radio is a conservative-dominated medium. A conservative talk host is about as unusual as a robin in spring. We have lots of conservative listeners who think I”m a communist. I’m not going to change my opinions because of that, and Rick isn’t going to change his because of your complaints.
“Interesting everytime someone makes a comment on the Mock Radio Shock Jocks, you become entertainers. I dont buy that silly cover.”
It’s not a silly cover, it’s the reality of the situation. You keep trying to make your policy disagreements into legal issues. They’re not.
Al –
Does the station have a policy (other than the disclaimer that “the views expressed…) regarding adovcacy for candidates?
Jensen & Fulcher’s shilling for Wharton was way over the line as I recall.
Jason,
I don’t think you would’ve given a damn had the “advocacy” been for Beau Biden. C’mon, I think the radio did its job. Beau was the better-funded candidate with a dynastic last name. Wharton was, by every definition, the better candidate. Beau got by because of his name and Rick and Gerry pointed that out. They invited Beau on the show many times. In broadcasting, that’s all that needs to be done. As long as the invite is extended, they’re safe. If Rick and Gerry were just bashing Beau without the offer, then there would be a problem. It’s not their fault Beau wasn’t brave enough to enter the viper pit and take them on.
It was wall to wall Biden bashing for months. I’m sure it made even Wharton blush.
Good. Biden should have been bashed. He was a candidate whose only right to the job was his last name. Again, the offers were out there. He refused to go on. So there is nothing illegal or questionable about Rick’s and Gerry’s actions.
Now, Jensen saying Copeland was a good force behind the BWW deal is complete bullshit and he needs to be held accountable. I think it’s silly that you would infer Rick’s getting paid, if only because I don’t think Charlie really gives a damn about local talk radio and its alleged ability to influence local politics.
With that being said, shouldn’t there really be a question mark at the end of this post’s headline?
Good points. While maybe not illegal or questionable, I found them irksome and I really think I would have found it equally irksome if Wharton had been so abused. (I’m all about equality.)
As for the alleged ability of talk radio to influence local politics – I guess the Jensen/Fulcher/Biden saga cleared that up.
Please stop saying “irksome”. Its irksome.
I’ll never apologize for using “irksome.”
Hi, Friends! Rick Jensen here.
Here’s what I actually DID say about Charlie Copeland: Back when most of us thought the Bluewater Wind deal was dead, Charlie suggested BWW & Delmarva should consider a smaller project and/or a Multi-State plan involving New Jersey, Maryland or both. And that’s what occured. That’s it. I didn’t say he was involved in the deal-making or had anything to do with the final deal. I simply noted an interesting fact. I also mentioned many times that Sen. Tony DeLuca was instrumental in bringing the two parties together. Why is no one angry about my mentioning that fact? Why is no one upset that I would mention Democrat Tony DeLuca’s role? Perhaps it’s because I didn’t mention someone else’s favorite politician? There are many people who publicly rallied for a deal between BWW and Delmarva Power. At some point, I’ve mentioned many of them. Some were more influential than others.
For those of you who wanted to see a deal between BWW and DP, I’m grateful to all of YOU who kept pressure on lawmakers and people who influence policy. YOU certainly had a meaningful role.
Charlie Copeland is not paying me to respect and support his candidacy. Just as you have don’t need to be paid to support candidates you respect.
At the risk of being irksome, ya think a Democrat-controlled House and Senate will bring you Open Government in Delaware? Hmmm?
Wow.
I feel like Zeus just came down from Mt Olympus.
Thanks for reading and commenting Rick. Since this is apology day – Sorry about getting the facts wrong, and reporting that you got facts wrong.
King of the half-assed apology.
Sorry you feel that way.
Well, I suppose it’s an improvement over the “STFU, you lying sack of sh*t!” I was expecting.
Question: when the WNJ or any other paper endorses a candidate, it’s actually just the editorial board that decides it, right? Or is that just a fig leaf? I’m just thinking back to all those front page campaign ads for Beau they were running. “Beau gets his hair cut before going off to play JAG officer” and such.
Oh and another repressed memory surfaces: I attended a fund raiser for Ferris Wharton at the Newark VFW, and there was this big sweaty guy eating all the pizza – was that you, Matthews?