March 29, 2002

6:13 AM

Despite what you may have heard, nationally syndicated dee-jay Don Geronimo, half of the team Don and Mike, is not dead. Two weeks after falsely reporting that the radio personality had a "grape sized tumor", the "fan" site DonaAndMikeFans.com (now understandably defunct), reported Geronimo's "death" from said tumor, complete with a perfectly mocked up Washington Post story (sadly now gone from Google's cache). Needless to say, Geronimo was not amused. Between, Westwood One, The Washington Post, and Geronimo himself considering legal action, I'd say that webmaster is screwed. A joke taken too far, or a case of Shock Jocks not being about take what they dish out?
posted by emptybowl (7 comments total)

First off, they're hardly Shock Jocks. These guys are Shock Jocks. And secondly, the webmaster was way out of line. Whether or not he should be sued by three major entities is not for me to decide, but they've had problems with him before, which leads me to think he's just an annoying prick who will deserve what he gets.
posted by dopamine at 6:39 AM on March 29, 2002

Opie and Anthony are only travelling down the same road that Don & Mike and Howard Stern went before them. The only difference is that Don & Mike appeal to an older audience than O&A.

Don apparently can't take a joke. And Don (and Mike) died months ago, when they moved the show from evening drive to afternoons.
posted by crunchland at 6:54 AM on March 29, 2002

Hopefully this won't turn into a D&M Vs. O&A thread. (Though I think there's a big difference between Shock Jocks and unfunny, racist, misogynistic assholes) The webmaster was totally out of line. Don can obviously take a joke (given his handling of the original tumor posting), but I can understand his reaction to this prank. How would you like it if people were calling your family, asking if you're really dead, while you're on vacation? From what I heard, this whole thing affected Don's son very badly. Hopefully this jackass will get what's coming to him.
posted by emptybowl at 7:04 AM on March 29, 2002

Yet, I can see them doing the same thing to someone else, and not understanding why they'd get in hot water for it. Don & Mike seem to have no moral guideline, so it seems all too hypocritical that they get bent on this one... I wouldn't be surprised if the real reason why they are pissed is because advertisers were starting to make moves to yank their ads because of the rumor, according to one of the articles you linked.
posted by crunchland at 7:16 AM on March 29, 2002

Shock Jocks? There is hardly anything shocking about any of these radio personalities, especially Don & Mike.
posted by mad at 7:40 AM on March 29, 2002

A joke taken too far, or a case of Shock Jocks not being about take what they dish out?

Or a publicity stunt in which the offence and bluster is all part of the act. Oh look, it worked.

I don't know the guys. I've never heard of them, but I'm always suspect of these types of things. Radio DJ locks himself in room and won't come out until he plays his favorite record 1000 times, radio DJ says something controversial, and now she's about to be fired. Fans, please start a letter writing campaign. I've seen these things from the inside, and often as not management is fully in on the gag.
posted by willnot at 7:57 AM on March 29, 2002

Or a publicity stunt in which the offence and bluster is all part of the act. Oh look, it worked.

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner.
posted by crunchland at 8:12 AM on March 29, 2002