Disney in Talks With Radio Hosts
Walt Disney Co. is angling to re-sign KLOS-FM talk-show hosts Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps to a five-year deal estimated to be worth $15 million, company sources said.
The move comes after Disney paid more than $3 million to resolve racial discrimination lawsuits stemming from a 1998 KLOS promotion called “The Black Hoe,” during which the deejays gave away black plastic gardening tools as gag prizes on their top-rated “Mark & Brian Show.” The promotion infuriated civil rights leaders, who called for the duo’s firing and demanded a public apology.
Thompson and Phelps, who eventually apologized for the promotion, were expected by some civil rights leaders and station executives to step down in September when their contract expired.
No new deal has been signed, but station executives confirm that talks are in progress to persuade Thompson and Phelps to stay on.
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