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Take a Hikey, Mikey
PART 2 - With regards to your comments about 91X and Garrett Capone, in my baised opinion, Mikey had every right to have the rant against them. There IS such a thing sir as rightious anger, and speaking out against things that are not right. Now, in this situation maybe what is "right" is a matter of opinion, so that point can not really be argued. What can be argued is your slanted view against Mikey, and claiming rumors as facts. Thank you again for your response, it does show that you care about your article and at least you have the guts to attempt to back it up. I respect that, although I am sorry, I really cant respect the article. Those of us that know Mikey, and care about him and the others on the Mikey Show, have taken this very seriously and are genuinely upset and worried about Mike. If he deserved the article that you wrote, then I wouldnt be able to say anything against it, but he doesn't. This just does not reflect the type of man that he is, and all of the lives that he has touched. His Friday "testimony" (which last only a few minutes at the end of the show, and is all about helping people with substance abuse) has actually prevented people from committing suicide. There have been several people call in and say that they were about to end their lives, they heard the testimony on the air, and they got help. Did you know that? Have you ever reported on that? That to me sounds like a newsworthy event.— March 14, 2012 7:39 p.m.
Take a Hikey, Mikey
PART 1 - Mr. Leighton, I appreciate and respect the fact that you took the time to respond and attempt to back up your statements. But it still remains that in your orginal article, you discuss the rumors and inuendo as if they were facts. You state that he was "fired", and yet you yourself do not even know if that is true. How do you know that he did not have a clause in his contract that allowed him to walk away, or get out of the contract, if the station attempted to change his format? He has stated many times, on the air, that he runs a talk show; he will never play music during his show. It is obvious that 94.9 wanted to get music back in the mornings, even if it was a "hybrid" show that had both talk and music. Doesn't it seem likely that they told him to change the format, and he walked away? But to bring up in your article that perhaps his "mouth" got him into trouble (behind the scenes), and that he was fired for it, is just completely unfounded and there is nothing to back that up. In my opinion, it just shows your dislike for him. Christians, especially outspoken ones, are targets for ridicule. Because people dont like Mikey and his beliefs, when something like this happens, those people come out of the woodwork and just start slinging trash and garbage. Im not saying that you are "one of those people", but your article would definitely lead me to believe that. Your responses dont really provide any definitive backup for the information that you reported in your article as "fact". The bottom line is that no one knows what happened. Mikey could be sick, or he may have personal family issues that forced his early retirement. He may have asked the station to keep quiet because he doesnt want the whole world to know about his personal problems (which he did briefly discuss in a blog entry, and you did report on in your article). But because of your bias towards him, you draw unfair conclusions that maybe he is struggling with substance abuse. You stated that he had discussed on the air that he has struggled with substance abuse in the past (that is a fact), and immediately in the next sentence you discuss his blog entries (another fact), and yet your unfairly put those 2 things together which would lead a reader to believe that his personal problems were due to substance abuse. The way you wrote the article, and claimed rumors as facts without actually stating that all of this is rumors, leads to the obvious conclusion that you didnt like Mikey or the Mikey Show...which is fine, everyone has their opinion, but its not fair or right to use your position as a "journalist" (or glorified blogger, and I do not mean that in a disrespectful way), to slam him with rumors and information that may or may not be true. I agree that the ratings were down, although that does not really reflect anywhere NEAR the amount of people that listened to the Mikey Show (via podcasts, the 94/9 app, and online streaming).— March 14, 2012 7:39 p.m.
Take a Hikey, Mikey
Besides the facts that I already posted about your "article", you also stated that Mikey had an "on-air rant" against Garrett Capone about beating up "special needs kids in the classroom." What you fail to report is that at that time, Mikey and his show were running a 28hour show to raise money for Rady's Children's Hospital and autism awareness, and 91X (Garrett Capone) was advertising and running their own campaign directly AGAINST the 28hour show. They were advertising that they would play nothing but music during those 28 hours, and stating "who wants to listen to talk for 28 hours anyway". They were competing against a good cause, instead of joining forces with Mikey for one day to raise money for children with autism. Mikey's son has autism, and Mikey took it as a personal offense that they would run advertising against him on that day, which sparked his anger on the air....OF COURSE! Mr. Leighton, PLEASE, for the sake of journalism, go take some courses at a local community college and learn what good reporting consists of. Because you sir, only report what you want people to know, and not the facts. You make me nauseous...seriously.— March 14, 2012 2:18 p.m.
Take a Hikey, Mikey
Sir, you have the journalism skills of a high school freshman. You pawn off heresay and rumors as if they were fact, and that is NOT good journalism. It is well known that you never liked The Mikey Show, or the people on the show, because you wrote an article 2 years ago about Steven Woods that was just as jaded as this one. Good journalists do not take sides, and you obviously use your podium as an opportunity to tear apart Mike Esparza and his team any chance that you get. You should be ashamed of yourself, and the San Diego Reader should be ashamed for even allowing you to post this trash. You use someone from 105.3 as a "source", when you are WELL AWARE of the history they have with Mikey. OF COURSE they are not gonna say nice things about him. They are the COMPETITION and they are not cordial after the breakup they had 2 1/2 years ago with Mikey. This is absolutely ridiculous, and anyone with half a brain can see right through your one-sided "reporting" (very loose sense of the word). I find it very ammusing that directly about the are where we are invited to "Post a comment", we are advised that "We (the San Diego Reader) prohibit profanity, libel, spam, racial epithets, and the harrassment and abuse of others", when that is EXACTLY what you have just done with this "article". All of us know that you are reporting false "facts" and heresay, because FM 94.9 is REFUSING to answer any questions or say what happened to Mikey. You have NO PROOF that he was fired. Even in your own article you say that Rick Jackson said they were "not prepared for this." If they were going to fire Mikey they would have had a plan in place, or at least in the work. There is no proof that Mikey was "fired". How can you report that with a clear conscience? Oh yeah, its because you dont have one, and this article is clear proof of that. I hope the S.D. Reader wakes up and prohibits you from ever posting an article again, because really all they are doing is making themselves, and you, look like a fool.— March 14, 2012 1:59 p.m.