By now, many of you have learned that Dominic Dieter, co-host of "Rover's Morning Glory" on WMMS in Cleveland, told a father to have his lesbian daughter raped until she goes straight. We can all agree that Dieter's suggestion is grossly offensive and encourages outright criminal activity. It turns out that Dieter not only may have broken the law himself, but put WMMS' license in immediate danger.
When I went to bed last night, I was thinking, "There is no way in the world that Dieter didn't commit a crime here." So I took a look-see at the Ohio Revised Code, and it looks like that at the very least, that broadcast may have violated section 2917.01 of the Ohio criminal code, "inciting violence." Unless I'm very wrong here, calling for a person to be raped over the airwaves more than fits that bill. And under that law, since Dieter was encouraging the commission of a felony, he may have committed a felony himself. Somebody needs to get ahold of Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason to see if charges can be filed against Dieter for this. Contact him here, especially if you're in the Cleveland area. If there is any justice at all, Dieter should be frogmarched out of the studio, or at the very least have police waiting for him when he comes to work or ends his shift.
Also, it turns out that the licenses of all radio stations in Ohio are due to expire on October 1 of this year. Clear Channel is required to send the renewal application by June 1, and the last date to file a petition to deny filing is September 4. Check out the timetable at the FCC Website. So Dieter's screed couldn't have possibly come at a worse time. Unless Dieter's head rolls, we have as strong a case as any to get WMMS' license yanked--and possibly the licenses of its stablemates in Clear Channel's Cleveland cluster.