Mahmoud Al-Rasheed, general manager of Arab Radio Network, told Arabian Business in an emailed statement on Wednesday that the presenter had been asked to leave for “inappropriate on-air conduct”.
John, who is originally from South Africa, is believed to have read an interview on-air which was offensive for religious reasons.
The sacking follows an interview John gave with Dubai newspaper Gulf News in June, in which he said he had “studied the Middle Eastern market thoroughly” before his arrival.
And a DMO commenter already has more:
Virgin Morning show presenter Revin John has been released of his duties with immediate effect. This apperantly stems from him airing a pre-recorded "joke" in which he communicates to God, asking Him what was on his agenda. The deep voice over replied "world peace, Madonna and Britney." That's just part of the gag, but you get the gist of it. It appears Haks aren't the only ones here who can easily get the sack for their "public" mistakes, eh?
25 comments:
ITP.
"Studied the Middle Eastern market thoroughly"
Obviously not thoroughly enough. Everyone knows you don't mess with religion. Good riddance to him. He wasn't any good anyway.
IHT Article
Hmmmm - pre-recorded? Didn't anyone in production advise him of his impending gaffe? Did he check? Is Dubai radio so over-confident and arrogant that they don't have any curbs on presenter activity? Or was he simply allowed to self-implode?
Would now be a good time to blame ITP or shall I wait a few hours?
Edit: Just saw the comment at 17:01 - Damn - beat me to it :)
"don't mess with religion"?
So what's with all the prostitution, inequality and alcohol in Dubai then?
Religion in the UAE is used as a form of social control you moron - nothing to with cultural values.
It's all stupid.
The 'offensive' allegation is stupid.
And Revin John is stupid.
he could always get a job in PR!
interesting that Dubai isn't so tolerant of other beliefs and cultures when fining / jailing people for chewing gum or drinking water in Ramadan. yet suddenly, it's a big deal to offend Christians?
i actually thought the joke was quite funny.
Dear Moderator
Can we get a thread going on City 7’s X factor-style hunt for a new women’s show presenter(s)? It’s proper car-crash TV, which is ironic as it’s hosted by Adam whassisname, the car safety expert. It’s required viewing if you can stand the sheer horror of watching a bunch of impressionable bints being patronized by a panel of cretins who all look like extras from a M&M’s advert. One life-affirming moment follows another as the bald guy and the two fat girls exercise their idiocy in a studio setting not too dissimilar to those that Al Qaeda use when they’re X-factoring their hostages heads off.
XXX
ITP
That joke was funny. And Revin's better than most people allowed to go on air in Dubai. Besides, why does UAE allow to air clips of Ellen DeGeneres' conversations with God then if it's so bad?
I bet it was it was just some nuts phoning in outraged about it that put fear in AMG's big wigs (better safe than step on somebody's big hairy toes right?)...otherwise why would they let it air in the first place if they thought it wasn't fit?
Don't know about Ellen, but there have been instances of Dubai One showing episodes of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" unedited - dropped my beer one day when the 'C' word was used copiously.... was anyone fired for that?
Also Curb is stuffed full with references to the evil Jews... a faith of which Larry David is a member...
Dubai Radio exercises little to no control over their presenters, the remit being if they want to do it and don't ask for cash and can speak without drooling, you're in front of a mic in short order with no training, guidelines or tape delay. I managed to get onto a weekly 3 hr show as co-presenter for 6 months after being a contributor to two other weekly 3 hr shows and at no point did operational management know my last name or have any form of identification for me. I could have merrily blurted out "pork, booze, shagging and child-jockey abuse" any morning I liked and got the station into a world of shit. Radio here barely aspires to regional radio in the 80s, apart from 2-3 exceptions.
I'm sorry, but most of this really is bollocks. Yes, radio here is shit, but guess what? It's shit everywhere.
Two words for you: Nick. Ferrari.
Frankly someone who'd just walked in off the street would be an improvement.
No it's not shit everywhere.
Dubai peddles a particular kind of shit that brings shit down to a level never quite realised before.
So true, surprise"burfday shoutout"
guess who is dead or not dead!
Could cause drowsiness and/or aggresive mood swings do not drive or operate heavy machinery while listening.
Speaking of DJs, who the hell put Rick from the Rick & Daniel show on air. The guy is a moron and I have no idea why Daniel puts up with his trash. About time Rick was taken out of the picture so that we can see the true potential of Daniel come to light
Well said Daniel! We're right behind you mate.
"...yet suddenly, it's a big deal to offend Christians?
i actually thought the joke was quite funny..."
Only Christians believe in God? Hmmm...one learns something new every day.
Whew! The entire ruling elite of Dubai turns Christian overnight. Am I dreaming?
I feel our world is going backwards? When have we all become so sensitive? I wonder how genuinely righteous the people who complained or fired are? Are we so blind as to not see through all this hypocrisy?
some comments are useful, unfortunately most posted on here are useless. I am regretfully getting very bored of this blog. It used to be so much better.
@ 01:25 Dim whit and co, it wasn't pre-recorded... and no, I do not work for Virgin. This is what I mean, get your facts straight and make this blog (in general) a more entertaining read.
Oh Please! Don't tell me you all actually wonder why radio is so shit here?!?! It's staring you in the face. Look at the reason for this thread. If anybody ever tries to do something good, investigative, funny or can't put a positive spin on a pile of turd....they get shafted. Reven John is just another example of this (and other) industries' mentallity here. We've all seen it before. Someone says/writes something pretty damn blase, (that elsewhere wouldn't even be blinked at) happens to piss the wrong person off who has the mobile number of the right person, viola... ticket to ride....
Hey Mr. Anonymous @ 04.11.08 8:15 - read the original post where it states:
"Virgin Morning show presenter Revin John has been released of his duties with immediate effect. This apperantly stems from him airing a pre-recorded "joke" in which he communicates to God, asking Him what was on his agenda. The deep voice over replied "world peace, Madonna and Britney." That's just part of the gag, but you get the gist of it. It appears Haks (sic) aren't the only ones here who can easily get the sack for their "public" mistakes, eh?"
I think the words "pre-recorded" are plain to see, therefore I believe that you are the one who needs to get help in "making this blog a more entertaining read". Start by reading it properly yourself :)
... and another thing: sentences should always begin with a capital letter, the word is 'dimwit', and 'co' is an abreviation and should be written thus: co.,
Yes, I agree, Dubai Media isn't what it used to be.
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