Let’s give it up for Steve Duemig, long-time sports gabber from WDAE. He has once again stirred up the ire of many in Tampa Bay. The latest being from one of his own station’s hosts, Ron Diaz.
In a report by Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times, Diaz laid into the afternoon drive host for erroneously reporting two more of the four missing football players had been found, alive, before retracting it 15-minutes later.
The only person rescued was Nick Schuyler, who played for the University of South Florida. The 21-foot fishing boat, a cooler and a life jacket are the only effects found thus far, now four days after the foursome failed to return following a trip into the Gulf of Mexico.
Allegedly, Duemig received a text message from what he considers “a really good source” making the rescue claim and he went on the air and repeated it. Only after another text said the prior one was false did a retraction come.
Diaz laid into Duemig anyway.
Just hours after USF Examiner Tom Edrington wrote about Duemig’s incredible blunder, I posted my thoughts saying Clear Channel is just as accountable for what their hosts do as the host themselves. More than 48-hours have elapsed and CC has been mute, which is sad.
I also mentioned the potential problems such “reporting” could do if proven to be wrong and that is exactly what happened. Channel 10, a CBS affiliate, did an on-air apology because Duemig’s words lit the fuse on an incendiary device – the Internet.
In Deggans’ story, even his own paper was duped, as well as a number of other outlets that a body had surfaced off Turtle Beach. It was nothing more than what PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) likes to call a Sea Kitten, a very large one at that.
Duemig is always telling fish stories on his show but this one was a whopper of a mistake.
More than once Duemig has been in trouble on and off the air and to give you an idea how the parent Clear Channel handles controversy, this may give you some idea.
The self-professed “Big Dog” was recently picked up for another DUI. He apologized then and how did CC respond? Duemig was on TV doing a commercial outside Tropicana Field ragging on a fan – as if he was a lifelong Rays’ fan.
There has been incredible interest in this tragedy and with everyone trying to break a story, many have forgotten the true meaning of journalism, being right. Duemig, in his first apology said he “wasn’t in the news business” but when he went on the air with the gotta-be-first attitude he strayed over that line. Either you are are you are not. You cannot have it both ways which is what he has been doing for a very long time, and his bosses keep giving him props because he draws attention to the station.
Bubba the Love Sponge did a live-and-on-air slaughter of a boar and it was the outrage of listeners that brought him down.
Bubba, aka Todd Clem, was prosecuted by Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober on charges of animal cruelty. Clear Channel was also fined $755,000 by the FCC for multiple objectional segments on his station, WXTB, along with others who carried his show, also owned by CC.
Only then was he given his walking papers. Duemig is the sports version of Clem, sans pig, although some have called him that.
A number of us used to joke about former Tampa Bay Devil Rays general manager Chuck LaMar and how he held on to his job for a decade while the franchise slipped further and further into oblivion, even being mentioned as a candidate for contraction. We thougbh he must have had nude pictures of former managing general partner Vince Naimoli to have such security. Maybe that is the case with Duemig.
There comes a time when all the apologies become hollow. We have heard Duemig’s sad story before. He was on the air before I ever came to town so maybe I missed a few but I can tell you I am now tone deaf from the mountain of mea culpas. Enough already.
Clear Channel showed some brass kicking Bubba to the curb and they must now step up and do the same with Duemig. I said two days ago CC should step up and apologize to their fans and especially the family and friends of the missing boaters. Sadly, their silence has spoken volumes.
The only way for this to go away is for the Dog to be neutered and only a public outcry will make it happen.
You can express your sentiments to Lisa Dollinger, Communications / Media Relations. at 210-822-2828 or by e-mail - lisacdollinger@clearchannel.com
LISTEN LIVE HERE
Comments
Ted, you hit the nail on the head. Duemig and Clear Channel should be held accountable for such an egregious error in fact. It's nothing more than irresponsible broadcasting. I have followed this story like everyone else and have been very careful to only report on facts that have been verified. It's not too much to ask Clear Channel to ensure their voice, their on-air presence, i.e. their show hosts to do the same.
What a slivering snake you are Ted!?! Like you've never made a mistake...Sounds to me like you have your own beefs with Steve and trying to use this tragedy, as an attack. Talk about being selfish. Sorry you were picked on for being the tattle tailed, snot nose, that no one wanted to play with...Steve's show is sucessful, Bubba is on to Bigger and better things and well by the looks of it here...No one really gives a damn what you think...Sorry I stumbled upon this Garbino...Sign Bubba Army
What the ????, success isn't always the measure of a man. My "beef" with Duemig stems from the never ending apologies for lapses in judgement that Clear Channel apparently condones.
Since the sport-talk format made it's debut, there have been any number of so-called successful hosts who have been canned for much, much less.
And you defense of Bubba makes me wonder if you are planning a run for Sheriff like the Love Goof did.
Look, everyone has their taste and Duemig/Clem is more niche that huge. CC tolerates what they did/do because of ratings, plain and simple. As long as Duemig stays under the FCC radar and doesn't get the station fined, he'll probably be in a commercial for a bar soon because more people will likley tune in just to see when he has another foot-in-mouth episode.
Enjoy the endless and mindless prattle of the duo.
Len, thanks for the props. I am not trying to be the watchdog for area sports radio but I had to ask myself, when will corporate stand up and act responsibly?
I remember leaving Al Lang Stadium one afternoon after a spring game and Duemig kicked off his show talking Buccaneers. Their season was over seven weeks before and when a caller asked why he wasn’t talking a little baseball, he went on one of his patented vulgarity-laced tirades.
I normally would have let that slide because, as I previously stated, everyone has their own taste in radio, but this came after WDAE had just finished broadcasting that very same Rays’ game.
Duemig refused to talk Rays because he thought they were irrelevant in Tampa Bay. The Bucs’ stuff wasn't seasonally relevant or breaking news, he just wanted to keep in good graces with the guys at One Buc Place.
This fiasco is just the latest in a string of malapropos by the little puppy.
What the ??? asked if I ever made a mistake. Sure I have but I don't go on the air and act irresponsibly.
If you don't believe how much Duemig is despised in Tampa Bay, get a load of this, written on The Pewter Plank:
**************
My disdain for local sports talk show host Steve Duemig of 620 WDAE is no secret to any of the readers of this site. This is one of the most hyprotical men on the face on the face of the earth, and on top of that, just a generally terrible sports talk show host. Duemig is callous, hard-headed and stirs up controversy for no other reason than he has nothing else to bring to the table besides garbage. His predictions, prognostications, statements and general gossip are routinely laughed at by those who aren’t suckered in by the mere fact that he occupies the drive home time slot on the biggest sports talk show station in the Bay Area.
This is a man who has blown relationships with local writers, national writers (all will name unmentioned) and supposedly got into a fistfight with a local (very big) writer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and a respected member in the Tampa Bay community. This is the same man who openly campaigned for the release of TE Jerramy Stevens due to his past transgressions, than subsequently was arrested weeks later for an alleged DUI, cue the “all people mentioned in this post charged with crimes are guilty until proven innocent” line. HIS THIRD INVOLVEMENT WITH FREAKING DUI’S! Duemig also was the same genius who broke the story about the Buccaneers being moved to Los Angeles in 2000, about Phil Mickelson’s alleged gambling debts, and in all of these scenarios, his “unnamed sources” always take the fall for his preposterous musings.
**************
It was once again an "unnamed source" that led to Duemig's latest erroneous report. Infer what you like but his track record speaks, very loudly, for itself.
Speaking of great journalism, Schulyer and Bleakley went to USF, not UF.
I never said I was perfect and the omission of "South" was an oversight. I added the word to avoid any further confusion between the two colleges.
Interesting post. I have never been a fan of Duemig nor Jim Rome for that matter. But just to clarify, I tuned in as Diaz and Ian were talking about BigDog's "faulty" source. A program manager from 620 named Mike (never heard his last name) was in the booth with them and he spent the next 4-5 mins. falling on his sword for the WDAE and CC in general. I made a mental note to tune in the Duemig show that afternoon to see what he said but got busy with other stuff.
Bottom Line: Agree with you and Len that on such a SENSITIVE story, better care should have been taken to check sources B4 hitting the airwaves. His excuse that he's a sports talk show host not a bonafide "journalist" is NOT VALID.
Hoopster, that has been the problem with Duemig from the start, he tries to play both ends against the middle. You have a forum to report things as fact and when it is shown as false he yells the "I am not ...." crap.
The Pewter Plank quote is dead on when it comes to burning bridges. I cover most sports here in Tampa Bay and the only time I have seen him in a press box or clubhouse was at a USA Friendly soccer match at Raymond James Stadium. He claims to have all this inside dope on teams and players yet he is invisible where it counts.
I have also had the legendary Phil Esposito on my show where he trashed Duemig for wielding his stick against the Lightning. I talked to him a number of times and I cannot repeat what he added.
You are dead on about Duemig and being a bonafide journalist and I thank you for your comments.
Ted you’re an idiot. Although I agree with your opinions on Duemig, I cannot understand your blatant bias against Bubba the Love Sponge (BTLS). He has since admitted his role in the pig incident was bad judgment and the pig was humanely killed for the purpose of food. If you’re not aware, that is how the meat gets on your table each day. Unless you’re a vegan, you too are responsible for the deaths of animals. BTLS was fired because CC does not have the guts to stand up to the repressive FCC and their censorship. Please spare me the argument that children may be listening. These are the same children that go from watching Sponge Bob as 5 year olds to viewing gang bangs on the internet as 7 year olds. Please, a few words of profanity will not harm them. The kids will hear the words from their parents or friends before they would ever hear them from a talk radio host.
Calling a talented entertainer like BTLS, Love Goo, really shows your lack of character. He was not part of this issue, but you had to bring his name into. Instead you could have compared current CC talk show host, Todd Schnitt, who warned listeners that race riots would follow the election should Obama lose. But no, you had to bring up a five year old issue where the involved parties have apologized and moved on.
Fortunately, BTLS has found a place on national and local radio to continue his brand of entertainment. If you don’t like it, change the channel. Like I will do with your blog, by never clicking on it again.
Emotional friend, I can rant all day long about Schnitt but the truth is, he, like other political gabbers march to different drummers and are judged quite differently by the FCC, rightly or wrongly. Listen to any right wing shows like Rush Limbaugh lately? In my view, comparing Schnitt to Duemig is apples to oranges.
Schnitt is a commentator, Bubba and entertainer and Duemig a pseudo-journalist and self-professed know-it-all.
I partly agree, I could have used Schnitt but Bubba is just as culpable in the anything goes until the FCC calls over-the-air crap that comes out of my speakers. Clem was the best analogy I could use to make my point about Clear Channel.
Did CC overreact with Bubba? His listeners will say yes. Is Scnitt getting away with murder, of course. Did Duemig cross the line? Absolutely. I think the Little Puppy did far worse than Don Imus and he got canned. the I-Man is national thereby he came under greater scrutiny, Duemig is local and gets away with crossing a line - again!
Bubba was used as a reference point simply because he has tons more listeners and is far more visible than Schnitt. A deletion of a couple of the letters in his name approprpriately describes his show.
Don't get your panties in a bunch. Duemig's antics go as far back as Bubba's so the parallel drawn was appropriate.
PS - If kids go from Sponge Bob to gang bang in two years, that's on the parents. That may also be a reason why a lot of kids have no respect for anything these days.
JMHO. Thanks for the comments.
One other thing. I don't listen to Clem, never did. My gripe about him was more about something he did with a writer from the St. Petersburg Times.
A number of years ago that paper did a feature on yours truly titled, "Bubba, the Other Love Sponge" and was on the phone beforte the ink was dry screaming that the author was using his popularity to sell papers.
Fact is, the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays honored me with the nickname "Bubba Ray" in 1998 and the editor of the paper chose the headline to appropriately tie everything together.
He may be the greatest guy in the world but talk about overreaction. Sheesh.
Here is the link to that story in my last comment. Just add the www.
sptimes.com/News/051400/Floridian/Bubba__the_other_love.shtml
why those Duemig still have a job...
riga, the Little Puppy works for Clear Channel and so long as he doesn't cross the FCC it brings the station ratings. Clear Channel has no guts to can clowns like Duemig so long as $$$ are to be made. There are so many other more qualified voices around but listeners don't tune in for knowledge, they are there to get their 15-seconds of fame by being hung up on by the boor or listen to his tired old act that had been running for too long.
Sports radio in Tampa Bay is a vast wasteland of inane and dowright stupid chatter. They have little to offer other than controversy or lying to keep their little piece of territory when more educated people should dominate this market.
Listen, you have three stations covering three pro teams. Oversaturation is one problem. Keeping out guys and gals who are better, work harder and will take less money than the so-called brand names is the other.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!