Listeners of 'The Kenny Show on 92.9 Kick-FM' were stunned to learn the NDP government went straight to Red River College President Stephanie Forsyth in December, and asked her to interfere with freedom of speech on the campus radio station.
And Forsyth, no stranger to kow-towing to the demands of the thin-skinned elite she courts as Manitoba's newest "practitioner" of advanced education, assigned the corporate counsel of the College to the task and kept station manager Rick Baverstock in the dark for as long as possible, in a failed attempt to reprise of the execution of The Great Canadian Talk Show in November.
HEAR THE SHOW: Discussion of the emails starts about 15 minutes in; the phone message left for the NDP in return is around the 85 minute mark.
http://www.archive.org/details/TheKennyShow-SundayJanuary92011
The complaint stemmed from a live on-air call to the office of Greg Selinger MLA, aka the unelected Premier of Manitoba, after his St. Boniface constituency office phone number was advertised in the Red River campus newspaper, The Projector.
"Over the holiday break, I said , let's try to improve the show. I emailed Rick to find out if there were any emails about problems, do I talk too fast, I want people's opinion."
"I saw one of the most shocking email chains in my life - it originated from the Government of Manitoba. It was (about) the most harmless message ever, they came after me!" exclaimed Spirited Kenny, reminding listeners he had made similar calls in the past to the offices of Mayor Sam Katz and Coun. Jenny Gerbasi, among others.
" The (constituency office) number was in an ad wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We were doing the same. My tax dollars pay for it. It's our responsibility, we're his bosses. It's our role in democracy... It's called the Charter of Rights, not the Charter of what the NDP want you to do."
A longtime Kick volunteer, and former producer and co-host of The Great Canadian Talk Show, Kenny pointed out that the complaint sent by Selinger's press secretary Jay Branch manufactured a false quote about the stadium, despite Branch possessing an audio of the phone message and a transcript of the call.
Branch wrote, in an email directed to Forsyth via her secretary:
“Kenny” went on at length (In a tone dripping with sarcasm) about how “his children would enjoy paying for Mr. Selinger’s football stadium’’ and whether Mr. Selinger looked better with or without glasses."
While reading the email on the air Sunday, Kenny discovered the deception.
"I never said 'Mr. Selinger's stadium'. He misrepresented what I said to everyone (who received the email at Red River College) ! "
( Readers can compare the allegation of 'lengthy sarcasm' with the official transcript provided by Jay Branch, the Director of Cabinet Communications, to the College:
"Hello this is Kenny from the Kenny show at 92.9 Kick FM. I would just like to say Merry Christmas and have a happy New Year. Great job with the stadium. I’m sure that my kids will love paying it off. And I wish you all the luck in the New Year." he then went on with his in-studio sidekicks about Selinger's eyewear.
The total extent of the comments on the stadium: Two sentences. )
Branch continued:
"Personally I don’t care what “Kenny” talks about on KICK FM, but I would appreciate it if someone could have a chat with him regarding calling the premier’s office."
After sending the transcript to the College lawyer, Branch added:
" I'm merely asking that "Kenny" not call Greg Selinger's constituency office unless he has a constituency-related issue to discuss."
Kenny immediately raised serious questions about the true meaning of Selinger's messenger.
"Why is Jay Branch returning emails about the constituency office? Branch is with The Government. Does this sound like the NDP is trying to take away my right of free speech?... this is the force of intimidation", asserted Kenny, calling Selinger "The Macbeth of Manitoba".
"The King is dead, he's seeing ghosts, he's lashing out. They can't handle the criticism, they're scared", he insisted, asking listeners to consider "what if the Government leaned on the funder of where you volunteer? I see the writing is on the wall".
Kenny compared the NDP tactic of going directly to Forsyth with a manufactured complaint, to the backdoor channel used to silence The Great Canadian Talk Show.
"Instead of respecting our right to call his constituency office, Selinger did not respect my rights... The best friend of the Winnipeg Free Press, the NDP, ran to Forsyth like she was their mama. No one needs to have a chat with me ... everyone knows complaints go through Rick."
Well-trained in the alternative media, Kenny demonstrated how to stand up for freedom of speech to the bullies on Broadway.
"I'm doing what a good commanding officer does when he's ambushed - he punches back !" trying two phone numbers before finally leaving a phone message, while on air, for Branch where the problem started - Selinger's MLA office on Enfield Crescent.
As he explained in an email sent to Branch late Sunday night:
"A technical issue has prevented our uploading the audio of today's program, which included my attempt to reach you via your CabComm number. Maybe you should leave the answering machine on during the weekends, so I don't have to call Greg Selingers' MLA office to leave messages for you. Perhaps you can have a chat with the Premier so he can do the same, as I tried to leave the message for you at the Premier's Office when the call to your office failed.
As I stated in the phone message to you earlier, I will let you know when the audio of today's program is uploaded to YouTube...
Despite your having an audio copy of the Christmas message I left on the answering machine at Mr. Selinger's constituency office phone on December 19th, you deliberately concocted a quote regarding what I said for him about the football stadium.
In conjunction with your depiction of my tone as "dripping with sarcasm", you deliberately attempted to discredit me in your email to the College President.
Your suggestion they "have a chat with" me was a clear sign to Forsyth or her agents (ie their corporate counsel), that the Premier himself would "appreciate it" if the College intimidated the radio station they fund into censoring the volunteers from the community such as myself, who practice freedom of expression on CKIC-FM.
Even after getting the transcript the next day, you did not correct the misinformation that you originally sent (to the College secretary). Instead it was passed on directly to the College lawyer. Nor did the lawyer challenge the concocted quote either.
I am challenging you for inventing that quote, and you owe me an apology."
After asking a series of questions about the lead-up to his email to Forsyth, Kenny set out a number of steps he expected to be immediately followed by Branch, including "a writen apology from you for distorting the content and nature of the phone message ... to officials at Red River College", to be delivered to the station manager by 2 PM on Friday.
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Welcome to our new readers from British Columbia, Alberta, Brandon, Ontario, Virginia, Arizona, Washington State, Australia, and Tel Aviv.
Some previous blog posts about the cancelation of TGCTS and the backlash against RRC:
The students tell the truth about how they learned valuable skills and got course credit -- and how the conduct of the College officials concerns them:
http://tgcts.blogspot.com/2010/11/red-river-college-students-defend-tgcts.html
EXCLUSIVE: Red River College social work students barred from key job placements due to RRC dishonesty ...
Forsyth hears from an outraged alumnus about the value of freedom of speech http://tgcts.blogspot.com/2010/12/stephanie-forsyth-feeling-heat-from-red.html
and as it turned out,
Discovered: Previous failed attempt to intimidate Red River College into silencing TGCTS...
Later this week: More emails to Red River College uncovered !
