Roger W. Morgan and the WSJ

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PAGE ONE

On St. Croix, Senators Feel Heat Over a Pay Increase
Mainlander's Radio Show Stirs Up Political Scene;
FCC Gets Drawn Into Spat
By CONOR DOUGHERTY
July 13, 2007; Page A1

ST. CROIX, U.S. Virgin Islands -- Roger W. Morgan is of modest height, a little pudgy, and on a recent morning his workday uniform consisted of shorts, sandals and a flower-print shirt. He doesn't look like a revolutionary, but a group of Virgin Islands senators say he's that kind of threat.

A few months ago, the 64-year-old Mr. Morgan and listeners to his radio call-in show, "Free Speech," led an unsuccessful effort to recall four St. Croix senators after the senate voted itself a 31% pay increase. Since then, one senator has accused Mr. Morgan of leading an attempt to overthrow the Virgin Islands government. Another suggested Mr. Morgan is a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Now, the senators are asking the Federal Communications Commission to block Mr. Morgan's proposed purchase of WYAC-FM 93.5, the station that broadcasts his show.

Mr. Morgan thinks the senators are using the FCC to punish him for letting citizens complain about civic matters -- a right Mr. Morgan says is in short supply on this tiny Caribbean island. Sen. Ronald E. Russell says that's not so; he thinks Mr. Morgan is irresponsible and lets callers run an unchecked smear campaign. "He allows people to destroy and injure persons in the community's reputation without any type of restrictions," says Sen. Russell.

The fight between Mr. Morgan and the senators has touched on lots of lofty issues, like free speech, political accountability and race relations on an island where most people are black and many newcomers, including Mr. Morgan, are white and wealthy by comparison. But the friction also illustrates what can happen when Americans from the mainland -- known as "continentals" to the local Crucians -- bring a more abrasive brand of political criticism to a place where politicians have a cozier relationship with their electorate.

The U.S. Virgin Islands -- which include St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John -- are an unincorporated territory of about 110,000 people. St. Croix, the largest of the three, has about 55,000 people. It's about 28 miles long and 7 miles wide. Senators here are everyday citizens, as likely to be seen at the supermarket as on TV. Most everyone seems to know one of them. There are 15 senators in the Virgin Islands Legislature, which meets in St. Thomas, seven from St. Croix. So while Crucians have plenty of criticisms about local politics, they didn't customarily call senators "thieves" on the radio, as they did during the recall attempt.
LISTEN IN

On Robert W. Morgan's "Free Speech" radio show in January, a caller angry about the senate's pay raise criticized Sen. Juan Figueroa-Serville. (Windows Media | RealPlayer)
In March, at a legislative hearing, Sen. Juan Figueroa-Serville criticizes the radio program. (Windows Media | RealPlayer)

Mr. Morgan's show changed that. From 9 to noon each weekday morning, callers to "Free Speech" gripe about everything from driving on the left side of the road to chatty bank tellers. Local politics, and the characters in office, are a frequent topic. But because Mr. Morgan and many of his callers are mainlanders (identified by their lack of an island accent) the nagging tone of "Free Speech" offends some listeners.

"People get on the radio and they want us to do everything they do in California and Oklahoma and Texas," says Roy Rodgers, who owns a tug and barge company. "We've got some problems like everybody got problems. They compare our bad to their good. They never compare our good to their bad."

Amid the controversy, Mr. Morgan's station is prospering. In May, readers of the Virgin Islands Daily News named WYAC-FM "Best Radio Station" and Mr. Morgan "Best Radio Personality." On a recent afternoon Mr. Morgan took his staff out for margaritas to celebrate the station's rising advertising revenue.

Mr. Morgan -- born Jerry Lambert -- has always been an entertainer. As a child he performed a roping routine while traveling the U.S. with his dad, a rodeo announcer. Mr. Morgan got his first radio gig in junior high school, and says he changed his name to get out from under his father's shadow. He has been on the radio, and going by the name Roger W. Morgan, ever since.

For most of Mr. Morgan's 50-year broadcasting career, his shows have been about comedy and music. Listeners in Omaha, Neb., knew Roger W. Morgan as the guy who makes prank calls, ending each call by telling hapless answerers that they'd been "Morganized." He hosted rock shows in San Diego and San Francisco, and had a syndicated oldies show in Omaha.

Mr. Morgan discovered St. Croix on a family trip and liked it so much they decided to move there. At first, he continued airing rock on another station. He began doing "Free Speech" in 2004.

Like any call-in show, "Free Speech" lives on the passions of its callers, and Mr. Morgan does his best to rile them up. When the calls aren't coming, he'll pose a question to listeners. One morning recently he asked callers what makes a person a "true" Virgin Islander. (One caller suggested at least 10 years of residency).

No issue has brought in more calls than Act 6905. The law, which was passed in a special session on Dec. 28, raised the governor's salary to $150,000 from $80,000 and the senators' salaries to $85,000 a year from $65,000. The average income on St. Croix is $26,548, according to a University of the Virgin Islands survey.

Callers denounced the raises as excessive and the timing shady because the issue was raised at the end of the legislative session. Jim Hoffman, publisher of a monthly newspaper, suggested a recall drive. Within two weeks about 1,000 people had signed a petition to recall five Virgin Islands senators, including three St. Croix senators who had voted for the raises (and a fourth who didn't show up for the vote).

A little more than a week later, Sen. Russell and other senators targeted in the recall sent a letter to the FCC, on Senate stationery, asking the commission to deny the transfer of WYAC-FM from its current owners to Mr. Morgan. "It appears that [Mr. Morgan] is using the issue of a senatorial recall to destabilize the legislative branch of government," the letter says. The FCC says it is reviewing the objection and declined further comment.

During the months-long campaign, senators were blasted on bumper stickers and labeled "Caribbean Pirates" on T-shirts. Listeners called out Sen. Juan Figueroa-Serville, a target of the recall, for hiring his father as chief of staff. The practice of hiring relatives is fairly common among St. Croix politicians.

Sen. Figueroa-Serville swung back in March, when he delivered a five-minute statement in which he made multiple references to "Roger W. Morgan and his Ku Klux Klan cronies and puppets." He also framed his newly raised salary in racial terms: "To them, black people should not make money."

While the war of words has gotten nasty, Mr. Morgan says he's more concerned about his legal expenses -- $40,000 and counting. Sen. Russell, who is a lawyer, won't say how much he has spent for legal expenses but says he's using his own money.

The claims of racism have rung hollow to residents on the island. Around St. Croix it's tough to find anyone, white or black, newcomer or native, who wasn't opposed to the senators' raises. "It was ridiculous," says Frances Molloy, who has lived on St. Croix since 1946 and owns a clothing store here, about the racial charges. "We don't have that kind of tension here, so we don't need anyone to start it."

What's going to happen when the spat is over? Actually, Sen. Russell thinks he and Mr. Morgan will make up. "It's nothing personal," he says.

Write to Conor Dougherty at conor.dougherty@wsj.com

Alexandra: I hope that that isn't copyright protected material... Here is the Source's take on the article: http://www.onepaper.com/stthomasvi/?v=d&i=&s=News:Local&p=1176613260

It was forwarded to me via email from a friend of the writer. There weren't any indications that there was a copyright to comply with.

Does the tone of this article make anyone else uncomfortable? Now, I come from a state (Kentucky) that has lots of problems, crazy politicians among them. In many areas we would be last in the nation - but for Alabama and Mississippi - Thanks guys! So I'm used to seeing national publications taking potshots.

The article is well written and witty, but it seems that the writer's tone is condescending to say the least. We all (Virgin Islanders) come off looking silly, IMHO.

Did anyone else get this vibe?

JMHO but we should come off looking silly with some of the politicians that have been elected & RE-elected over the years.

Hi Alexandra,

Actually, the material very likely is covered by copyright (most creative work is unless permission is explicitly granted outside of the copyright.) Also, the republication likely does not fall into the "fair use exception." But, although the authors or other copyright holders could possibly sue for the publication, I would guess that it's HIGHLY UNLIKELY since your use isn't commercial, it's posted to a list like this, the WSJ knows that lots of us do forward such articles for purely entertainment reasons and even sometimes use the posting to to obtain the actual article directly from them for $, and so actual damages from a violation would probably be nil. I imagine they'd look like jerks for even considering such a suit, and it might damage goodwill in a really big way.

BTW, thanks for posting the article; it did cause me to look up the actual article in the WSJ (to which I subscribe.)

Best,

Lola