Cowger back on air? Teen claims radio show is back
14 year old "Truth for Youth" conservative is learning that civic spirit must comply with a bit of finesse: Spreaker has cited the teen talk-radio host for failure to comply with Community Guidelines in its Terms of Service
After Huffington Post picked up this author’s Zimbio and PR Log press release story – featuring the battle to get Caiden Cowger’s offensive content banned from being aired by its mega-host, the technologically innovative Spreaker – there was a moment of celebration.
Hal Bringman, one of the founders of the company, released this statement to the media:
"We hope this helps quell his hate-filled speech and also encourages those bullied that there is hope in stopping this abusive behavior. A statement from the CEO follows: "RE "Spreaker Pulls Down Hate Speech by Gay-Bashing Radio Host Caiden Cowger Reaffirms its principle about free speech in the web community"- San Francisco (-June 8, 2012-)
Spreaker released the following statement today regarding their decision, along with YouTube’s, to pull down content from Caiden Cowger, a conservative radio host best-known for spewing anti-gay, hate speech.
Quote, attributable to Spreaker CEO, Francesco Baschieri: “While we not only support free speech, we help it find its way to more people faster and easier with our service that is the audio equivalent of YouTube, but like them, we cannot and will not condone hate speech. Consequently, we have pulled down audio content from Caiden Cowgar, whose recent gay-bashing clearly crosses the line from free — to hate — speech.”
Spreaker, dubbed “Twitter for audio” by TechCrunch, is a mobile and web-based service that makes it easy to spread audio across social networks.
Bringman tweeted last evening about his sympathy for the plight of Rhonda Mangus, the New York mother of a bullied gay teen, whose legal battle for justice for her son led to the high Appellate Court of New York State, with the help of nationally renowned attorney Jay Paul Deratany.
Mangus had launched the quest to oust Cowger from Spreaker on Facebook on Thursday, and went to the media on Friday.
The story was picked up by internet media giant Huffington Post, and was published in its Gay Voices section, edited by the famous LGBTQ rights advocate , Michelangelo Signorile.
Less than 24 hours later, Cowger has left a message on his Facebook page, claiming that The Caiden Cowger Program is back on the air. But it would seem to all appearances that Cowger is simply accessing his Spreaker account, and placing tapes (which during Spreaker’s investigation, had not been deleted) on his Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/
Earlier, the youth had contacted administration at Spreaker, requesting aid, and defending his position:
"I would like to ask you what did I say that was hateful or discriminating?
I am going to warn you. There are people who are going to get mad when they discover that I am back, but my fans are going to still be on here.
Another thing, is there a way you could private my "offensive" shows, inorder to give my old show page back possibly?
Thanks again for your help!"
New York press agent and free-lance journalist SM Kovalinsky contacted Cowger at his programming site, and requested an interview with the teenage pundit.
In reply, the press agent received only a brief email from Cowger, claiming that he felt First Amendment rights were threatened in this country, along with a quote from Harry Truman which says,
"People tell me that I give them hell. I give them the truth, and they think it is hell."
Cowger has been tied to the Tim Todd ministries Truth for Youth program which makes the claim that:
" The Truth for Youth consists of the entire New Testament in the God’s Word Translation along with 100 pages of powerful, full color comic stories that present the "absolute truth" about issues that young people are confronted with. . . ".
The list includes what liberals would term LGBTQ rights – among a host of others – but would be deemed as invasive to Christian ideologues.
The conservative youth movement was anticipated by authors Howe and Strauss, who in their late 1990s epic books, "The Fourth Turning" and "Millennials Rising", predicted a youth-driven conservative agenda – consisting of what they called "young hero archetypes " combining civic discourse and backlash against liberalism which the authors claimed would be a major part of change in the United States.
On his Spreaker show tonight (which appears to have been pre-recorded, and references last month’s story about a child singing an antigay song in church) Cowger said he believes that even as a toddler he was disturbed by homosexuality, made reference to his Christian upbringing, and scoffed at the idea that he himself may be a closeted gay.