'It's just bacchanal'

FORMER host of the local, morning talk show Mixed Nuts on Vibe CT 105FM Errol Fabien says the programme's use of fake interviews/skits is not to create mischief, but to make listeners discuss and react to current social issues.

The programme recently received backlash after 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 Children's Authority (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 action.

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."

But speaking with Newsday yesterday evening, Fabien said the skits were common. He said over the years, the show's audience "knew what was going on," as there was a format. The segment was called Bacchanal Wednesdays. He said it had never been announced that the stories, interviewees, etc, in the segment were not real.

"It's just bacchanal," he said. "We would have a planning meeting weekly and decide what we were going to go with. And even people within the station and within management didn't know what we were doing because our audience knew it was Bacchanal Wednesday and it was our audience who reacted and responded to it in particular ways."

When told the CA had activated its emergency response team and had contacted the police, he said the skits aimed to cause serious responses as listeners might be able to relate to the issues being addressed.

"That is what the thing supposed to cause. It's not supposed to be mischievous but it's supposed to cause people to talk and react and respond to situations that may be happening in their own community, company, relationship.

"It has to be taken at its face value, it's just bacchanal. It's not myriad (sic) of truth, except that we will deal with the issues from the perspective of it being a bacchanal."

But he also said if the CA was displeased then an apology should be issued.

Asked if there had been complaints in the past about the skits, he said a lot of people get "sucked into" believing that it was real but regular listeners would have picked up on it.

"That is the level of response that must be required. People must have a sense to do something about the things we choose to provide them with and to show them. The station has no obligation to anyone else because they have not broken the law."

He said the Telecommunications Authority (TATT) was the only authority that could intervene. CA director Hanif Benjamin told Newsday he sent a letter to TATT as an official report.

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