God forbid you should talk about GLBT issues in America on a Fox Radio affiliate in Reno, Nevada. It could get you fired. This is what happened to Sean Savoy, an ordained minister with the International Community of Christ, Second Advent Church, when he hosted Dallas gay rights activist Will Kolb on KKFT-FM (99.1) August 12, 2012. The public affairs ”House of Savoy ” program was cancelled because of the Kolb interview by owner Jerry Evans.
The 30-minute show had aired since 2011 on Sunday evenings and was produced by Nevada Matters Media, Inc. The content of the interview touched on same-sex marriage, and the recent anti-gay statements by Don Cathy, CEO of Chick-fil-A. Savoy, a Reno native, is also an author and public speaker, was caught off-guard. “To think I could be removed for having a conversation about the LGBT community in America baffles me. I have conducted a variety of interviews with a wide range of people over the past year, and yet this was the topic that got my show cancelled. By censoring any message that benefits the LGBT community is wrong and detracts from basic human rights. It means that he (Mr. Evans) is gate keeping and not allowing the public to make their own informed decisions.”
Will’s Take on The Interview: “It’s a Shame for the Gay Community that we can’t even discuss this kind of stuff on certain networks”
Kolb, an ex-director of development for the Turtle Creek Chorale, said the trouble started with a Facebook post he made during the controversy over Chick-fil-A. The gist of it was “if you’re being called a bigot as a Christian, it’s not because you’re a bigot, it’s because of how you interpret Christianity.” In response to a complaint, the facebook post, which was seen by hundreds, including Savoy, was removed. Nevertheless, Kolb, a devout Methodist, was booked on the radio show.
A DIFFA Style council member and board member for Resource Center Dallas’ Toast to Life, Kolb thought his August 12th interview was “fairly mundane.” Kolb has been on the radio before and called a show he did with Richard Curtin’s Rational Ratio in Dallas ” a lot more controversial.” But as he points out, this is a Fox network. On the other hand, it’s still a free speech issue. “They basically really wanted to silence my opinion, all gay-rights opinions. ”
The outcome of the Ordeal
Kolb had has free speech violated. Savoy and his producer are looking for a slot on another local radio station. Savoy has come out although at the time he was fired, he was still in the closet.
How You Can Help
GLAAD (Gays and Lesbians Against Defamation) has gotten involved and is asking people to contact:
- KKFT at 775-884-8000
- jerry@991fmtalk.com and ask why “House of Savoy” was banned from the air.
- Or send a message via Twitter: @991FMTALKNEVADA.
