CBS Radio Fires Two More Hosts

CBS radio initiated what seems to be zero tolerance politics against their radio hosts. One month after the firing of Don Imus, two suspended radio hosts were permanently pulled out of the air yesterday for a prank call to a Chinese restaurant.

"The Dog House with JV and Elvis," featuring Jeff Vandergrift and Dan Lay, "will no longer be broadcast," CBS Radio spokeswoman Karen Mateo reported yesterday.

Vandergrift and Lay made their comments on April 5, calling to a Chinese restaurant and talking with an exaggerated accent to order "shrimp flied lice." The caller claimed he was a Kung Fu student and compared menu items to employees' body parts.

The initial broadcast passed unnoticed, but a re-airing of the segment after Don Imus's firing raised complaints from Asian-American groups-what may indicate that a precedent was opened after Don Imus's firing. Imus is filing a $120 million breach of contract lawsuit against CBS.

Vandergrift and Lay were initially suspended without pay, but Asian-Americans quickly demanded the same penalty that had been applied to Mr. Imus.

Following CBS's decision to fire the 2 hosts, more than 100 people turned out for a rally in Union Square in support of them and other radio personalities under fire. "I find censorship to be far more offensive than anything that was said," said Debbie Wolf of Far Hills, N.J., president of People Against Censorship.