SHORT TAKES : Radio Station Targets Gangs

KABC-AM Talkradio launched a public awareness and community clean-up campaign today called “Turn the Tide,” beginning with a four-hour program with talk show host Michael Jackson at 9 a.m. The station, in conjunction with KABC-TV, plans to take an active role in fighting gang-related crime and cleaning up the community and in March plans to send truck crews out to paint over graffiti.

The two-month campaign will feature editorials and public service announcements and will culminate in a concert at the Universal Amphitheater and a march along Vermont Avenue on March 31. Listeners are being encouraged to call a 900 number that features Jackson’s tape-recorded voice explaining the campaign; callers automatically donate $2. “All we’re doing is being a center point, a rallying point where everybody can participate,” said KABC-AM General Manager George Green. “This is not a KABC promotion as much as it is starting something. . . . It allows the radio station to do something more than just reporting the news.”