Children's Authority to radio station: 'We need to talk'

THE Children's Authority (CA) is calling on local radio station Vibe CT 105FM to speak with it following fake child abuse claims on one of the station's talk shows.

The Mixed Nuts morning show last Wednesday included what was presented as an interview with a woman who said she put her children in cages as a disciplinary measure. She also said her husband would put her in a cage when she did something he did not like. This, she believed, made her a better person.

Listeners were allowed to call in to share their views and were not told it was fake.

Later that day, the CA issued a press release calling the programme "salacious and irresponsible," as someone from the station said the interview was a "play to create awareness," when the authority, believing the interview to be genuine, tried to get the woman's contact information.

The CA had already contacted its emergency response team which immediately began taking the necessary action.

But the authority says the station has not contacted it since then. Nor has the station, part of Guardian Media Ltd, issued a public statement on the incident.

In an e-mail yesterday afternoon, the CA's communications department said, "The authority has not received any communication from the media house or the radio station. The authority is open to dialogue with the media house as we believe there is an opportunity for all media houses to be aware of how they should report on issues affecting children."

Newsday tried to contact the station for a response on several occasions but all calls to the relevant staff members went unanswered.