this letter was written by Yevgeny Mikhailov in response to the actions taken upon myself and Yev during the days of our radio show on WMTH 90.5FM. Enjoy this read…
Dear WMTH Radio Executives,
Since December 4, 2000, there have been several controversial topics concerning the content of the “BOB and YEV Show†which was supposed to air from 4:00-5:00 on WMTH 90.5. As we, Bob and Yev, have found out in the last couple of days, the content of the show has been discussed a few times in order to determine what will be the punishment, if any, or future of the show and the broadcasters. It has come to my attention that there are three main arguments that are being brought up against the show and Bobby and Yevgeny. I will first state each argument and then address each. The first point made by WMTH officials and executives is the use of foul language on our show. The second argument presented is that both Bob and Yev failed to listen to the supervisor present and disregarded the supervisor’s command or commands. The final point being made against us deals with the show’s content and the “Top Ten Most Attractive Females of the 2003 Class.†Now that you know the three points being addressed, proceed on to find out the truth about each one.
First off, one of the major points being addressed here is the use of foul language. Upon reviewing the tape several times, which I have enclosed here, I have heard no foul language at all DURING the duration of the show. We have been accused of saying the words “fuck†and “shit†on the air and this is false. I will admit to us saying the word “fuck†while being in the radio room, during which we thought that we were not on the air. Listen very closely at the beginning of the tape, and you will actually hear Bob say the f-word, I am not denying this. But listen even closer even before that and you will hear Bobby say, “We’re not even on.†Executives, this has been our third show only and we truly believed that we were not on the air. The f-word was spoken so softly that listeners at home could not hear the word, and only when you turn the tape on to its highest volume, can you hear the word, BEFORE the actual broadcast. With technical difficulties taking away fifteen minutes of the show (technical difficulties caused by an anonymous executive), which we had planned out so carefully, you can understand the frustration that we were going through. The f-word was spoken in the heat of the moment with no intention of being played on the air or on the show. We make a reference to us not being on the air right before saying that word. The accused “shits†were never said during the whole duration of our show, never. Another point to bring up to the board with language, is the language that is spoken by many of the students in radio. I was informed that one of the people accusing us of doing such a “wrong†show, last year went on the air, blatantly professing his/her hate towards the district, by using an abundant amount of swears directed at the administration. Every week on people’s shows, people swear, they play music with swears in them, Bob and Yev did nothing of this sort, and now we are in danger of being suspended or getting a strike for something that we had no knowledge of and had no reason to do. Bob and Yev have never sworn on the three times that they have been on radio, and will not ever. We truly believe that we are smart enough people to realize the amount of trouble that goes into swearing and the penalty for swearing, EVEN though ever week swears are told and no one does anything about it. So please, take into consideration these facts, and do not strike, suspend or kick us off the air for swearing, because obviously, WE DID NOT SWEAR ON THE AIR.
Secondly, Bob and Yev were accused of not listening to authority while on the air. This is something that was not explained to us prier to the show or even now understood. I am personally in awe of what the WMTH Executives are trying to pull here because we did everything that the supervisors told us to do. We realized that we had made a few mistakes that we were unaware of, and had no knowledge that we could not do. For example, at the start of the show, we addressed that if you had missed the show, tapes would be for sale. After our supervisor reported to us that we could not sell tapes, we never mentioned the topic again and are not selling tapes. Another example would be the announcement of our web site address. We announced this web site three times, before the supervisor informed us that we can no longer give out our web sire address, at that point, we followed orders and did not mention the web site again. A complaint that we received is that we did not listen to the teacher who entered the office and told us that our “Top Ten List†could no longer be read because of a complaint. At this point both Bob and I were confused and upset, but never the less we followed orders and did not attempt to read the list at all. We NEVER dismissed anything that the supervisors told us throughout the afternoon and continued to follow any orders, which were given to us. Concerning the end of the show, some have been saying that we did not allow the radio to be taken off. This is outrageous, during the last five minutes of the show, our supervisor stole the microphone from us and read the closing announcements. We never fought to keep the show on and we never stopped the supervisor from doing his job. We were frankly upset that we were not allowed to give our final good byes for that night before the supervisor read the final announcements. We were given no warning, no “you’ve got five minutes guys wrap it up,†the microphone was stolen, and we did not object in ANY WAY WHATSOEVER. I hope that we have proven another case in this long and ridiculous battle against “Bob and Yev.â€
Thirdly, the subject of the “Top Ten Most Attractive Girls of the 2003 Class†was brought up to the attention of the executive staff. This is the most ridiculous argument that has ever been issued. Bob and Yev asked and WERE APPROVED by executives’ two weeks prier to the airing of the show. Bobby even asked Mr. Shaphren to approve the list, and the LIST WAS APPROVED by him. There was nothing wrong with the list and nothing to go against the list since the list was approved a long time before hand. We were told that we can do the list in a “clean enough way to make it work.†No one should be blamed for this or be gotten in trouble for this at all for it was a stupid decision on several people’s part, including ours. There is nothing to say for this argument as I hope that now everyone sees really how stupid this argument is.
Finally, we have several things to say, to actually get us in trouble with the radio executives. Since we have included a tape of the entire broadcast here, we have noticed a few things that we have done wrong and would like to apologize for. The first and most important thing that you executives missed, is our open comments concerning the WMTH radio. We are very sorry for not supporting the radio at times and going against the radio. For example I Yevgeny said that, “Don’t listen to WMTH.†We are very sorry about this and other comments such as “Call in with your complaints.†This is our third show ever and we did not know about such rules, we knew about swearing and that is why we avoided such things. We were NEVER informed by the supervisor during the entire show that we could not say such things and in the heat of the moment, finding out that the main of attraction of our show was to be cancelled. We agree on accepting one strike on behalf of this problem that we have caused you and we are very sorry even though we truly did not know that you could not say such things on the air. We see this as the only problem that we have caused WMTH radio and the only thing that we should be punished for.
In conclusion, I hope that this letter has cleared up all the alleged rumors haunting the infamous “Bob and Yev Show.†As you know see, the three original arguments that were brought up can now be easily dismissed and should no longer be a concern. We have given you something that you have missed and are willing to except a strike for that. Do not forget that everything that has gone on in the Bob and Yev Show was to promote WMTH. In the last two weeks, more people have found out about our radio station than ever. On Monday December 4, we received more phone calls than WMTH has ever received in history. Bobby and I truly promoted the show, promoted the station, DID MORE PROMOTING THAN ANY MAN IN WMTH history. You cannot penalize us for trying to make the radio a better place and for getting the highest number of people to listen to WMTH ever. People are talking about our show, people are talking about the radio. When have you ever heard so many people talking about the radio. Bobby and I have achieved the one thing that everyone in the executive staff has always wanted, to get the radio to the people. There should be no penalty whatsoever for the amount of effort that we put into making this show and making everything work out. Do no forget that over fifty people voted in out quest to find out whom the most attractive girl of the class of 2003 is and in our quest to get people to find out about the radio and listen to the radio. We now understand that the top ten list may have been wrong, but to get publicity you need something Big, and we were getting tired of no one ever knowing about the radio. So now as you have found out, you have blown this thing way out of proportion for everybody has pretty much done the main charges against us in the radio staff. The longer this keeps going and the bigger our punishment, the more we will keep fighting for an unjust law.
Sincerely,
Yevgeny Mikhailov
P.S. We have already gotten many of our loyal fans to sign a petition stating to keep us on the air and a few people have actually written letters, so we hope that these letters and petitions will surface soon as they were given to the WMTH EXECUTIVES.
