Weatherman lost his job because he objected to this news story...

avatar for shadowcat
shadowcat
Atlanta suburb
Business Stays Strong For Strippers
Recession Has Little Effect On Vice
Cris Ornelas - 23ABC South County Reporter

POSTED: 2:47 pm PDT April 28, 2011
UPDATED: 10:07 am PDT April 29, 2011

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Nearly every segment of our economy has suffered through the recession. But we found one area that is still going strong: strip clubs.

What we found is that the reasons are more than skin deep. Experts tell us strip clubs and other vices are popular during hard times for psychological reasons.

A night at a strip club can get expensive in a hurry.


“We do have different increments as far as dancers go. We have half hours, we have $20 dances, and then we have the three for $60," said Déjà Vu Club manager Dimas Martinez.

Reserving a VIP booth can cost $150 for a night. But right now there is no shortage of reservations. Even in the middle of a recession, when money is tight for pretty much everyone, managers at Déjà Vu say they are still seeing more than 1,000 customers a week.

“I would say we are doing very well considering what's been going on with the downfall of other companies," Martinez said.

Bailey Michaels has been an exotic dancer for five years and has danced all over the country. Michaels has seen the ups and downs of the economy. She said after a small dip when the recession first hit, business bounced back quickly.

“At the end of the day, and everybody knows this, sex sells. The whole fantasy, you know, just coming in here and being whoever you want to be," Michaels said.

“That's really not surprising to me that in a recession that their business would be doing fine," Dr. Dean Haddock said.

Haddock, a clinical psychologist, says it goes deeper than the flesh and the fantasy. Dr. Haddock says it's common for people to turn to gambling, smoking and booze during hard times.

“One of the things that we do know about people when they are having stress is that they will spend money on their impulses. It's really the way people are. It's the way people cope when they feel they don't have a lot of power in their lives," Haddock said.

Michaels said people assume its all about the nudity and the sexuality. But she says often it's just about companionship.

“I don't know how many customers and get half hours and half the time they just want to talk about their personal life and get it off their chest… I have a lot of customers that have just recently been divorced or they lost their job or they took a pay cut and they come in here just miserable…; I reassure them that it's going to pick back up; it has to,” Michaels said.

We tried repeatedly to talk to customers to get their side of the story, but none of them would go on camera.

Haddock says all vices are popular ways of coping during hard times. But he says often they just make things worse and he recommends finding a friend or even a professional to talk to.


21 comments

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avatar for shadowcat
shadowcat
14 years ago
KERO Fires Chief Meteorologist After He Objected to Racy Strip Club Story
By Andrew Gauthier on May 6, 2011 11:58 AM
KERO‘s chief meteorologist Jack Church is no longer with the station and the veteran weathercaster says that he was fired after he objected to the ABC-affiliate’s airing of a story on local strip clubs.

Church, who appeared on KERO’s 5, 6, and 11 p.m. newscasts, posted the following message on his Facebook wall on Thursday:

Lost my job w/KERO-TV. We were set to air story @ start of sweeps in 5pm news featuring strip clubs & how they’re doing well in down economy. I protested saying it was inappropriate material for local newscast. Based on my Chrisitan values I could not be to part of this newscast. I asked to have day off when it would air. They denied request, I did’nt appear they fired me 5 days later for breach of contract.

The story that Church objected to is presumably this one, which details how area strip clubs are still doing well in spite of the economic downturn.

KERO management was not immediately available for comment.

avatar for troop
troop
14 years ago



“We do have different increments as far as dancers go, we have $20 dances, and then we have the three for $60," said Déjà Vu Club manager Dimas Martinez.

^^^^^^
gee, i wonder if they also have 2 for 40 and 4 for 80, duh
avatar for vincemichaels
vincemichaels
14 years ago
Well, IMO, they really don't need a weather forecaster for that station. LOL. Come on, we're talking about beautiful Bakersfield, California. The guy should have kept his trap shut. I'm for 1st Amendment rights, but losing a job over this. Oh well.
avatar for samsung1
samsung1
14 years ago
yeah troop I was wondering the same thing.
avatar for sexualchoc
sexualchoc
14 years ago
Props to the station for firing this schmuck!
avatar for vincemichaels
vincemichaels
14 years ago
Yeah, troop and samsung1. I wondered that myself. Such a deal!!
avatar for deogol
deogol
14 years ago
Good for the station. Maybe the right place for him is the Christian Broadcasting System.
avatar for Cheo_D
Cheo_D
14 years ago
Well, I'm sure he expected this to happen. He had registered his displeasure with his editor and there was a decision. Anyway, his beat is weather, he's not the editor and the editor's decisions shouldn't be held against him by his viewers: the news team will report on many things that are not exactly wholesome and it's not their individual fault. A member of the team may reasonably ask to be excused from HIMSELF participating in a report he finds morally unacceptable, or having to report on something that may involve a personal interest (e.g. plane crash where a family member was among the passengers, land use dispute that affects his house), but just doing the weather report in the same hour as the racy ratings-bait news piece? OTOH in a way it IS refreshing to see one member of a news team who had enough of sensationalistic ratings-bait material (but I'm sure they've been doing it for years, how convenient it was strip clubs that broke the camel's back...)
avatar for deogol
deogol
14 years ago
It's just an example of moral scope creep these types have on those around them. I am sure the outrage was that it was a more positive story. It probably would have been fine if it was a negative story.

Good riddance.
avatar for Dudester
Dudester
14 years ago
Hope the weatherman has a plan B. Local station in Houston has a newcast without anchors, reporters, or weather people. Possible wave of the future-although this station will lose viewers when a large weather event occurs. The drought that has been going on on for six months will come to a sudden end.
avatar for samsung1
samsung1
14 years ago
Screw regular news! I get my news from nakednews.com or twosheds
avatar for SuperDude
SuperDude
14 years ago
If he found the station's coverage of strip clubs personally offensive, he should quit. If he, a weatherman, wants to put his view of what is appropriate news coverage on the line, he has every right to do so. Every TV news station in the country should throw his resume in the wastebasket. What if the station wanted to run a story about increased cocaine use among the unemployed? Or people involved in bartering goods and services to survive with limited funds and avoid sales taxes? Reporting the story does not mean condoning the conduct. Do we really need on camera weathermen anyway? They may be entertaining, but a crawl across the bottom of the screen can give you almost the same information.
avatar for sharkhunter
sharkhunter
14 years ago
Sounds like the station is doing a good job. Now they can hire a weather girl who once worked as a stripper to help pay her way through college.
avatar for Dudester
Dudester
14 years ago
or a Hooters girl. Shark hunter gets an A+.
avatar for harrydave
harrydave
14 years ago
The guy's name is Jack Church. Jack Church. Sounds like the name for a strip club.
avatar for harrydave
harrydave
14 years ago
The weatherman's name is Jack Church. Jack Church. Sounds like a nickname for the Blue Diamond.
avatar for georgmicrodong
georgmicrodong
14 years ago
Good. Maybe he'll learn to keep his mouth shut concerning stuff that's none of his fucking business. Goddamn motherfuckimg busybodies with nothing better to do with their pathetic lives than stick their noses where they don't belong.
avatar for MrsGMD
MrsGMD
14 years ago
Don't hold back dear, tell us what you really think.
avatar for SuperDude
SuperDude
14 years ago
I am tempted to go on a long religious rant, but will not. Simply stated, Jesus of Nazareth simplified faith by challenging and advocating the removal of man created rules that kept man from God. He also was friends with a some people regarded as unsavory by the elders of His time. His was a voice of reason, not blanket condemnation. Too bad the weatherman didn't get the true message.
avatar for kuteechaser
kuteechaser
14 years ago
He should have kept his mouth shut and called in sick.
avatar for uscue13
uscue13
14 years ago
So does he have a problem with the news reporting on a pedophile serial killer that's been caught or a homosexual being elected to public office or marijuana legalization, etc etc etc? If he wants to sit out every day they report on something not in line with his views then he needs a different job. No sympathy for the man, your job is to report the weather and the station's job is to report whatever else is going on in the community. If the strip clubs weren't making money, there would be no story.
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