Apologies from Chicago National Public Radio (Wait Wait... Don\'t Tell Me!) after WBEZ\'s prejudiced joke about the Poles

The unfortunate joke appeared on October 26 in a program Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me on Chicago NPR (WBEZ91.5). The host Peter Sagal and Peter Grosz strove to answer a question “how many Poles it takes to screw in a light bulb”. Phone calls poured in to the Polish Consulate General in Chicago from offended WBEZ listeners.

In her letter to Executive Producer Mike Danforth Polish Consul General in Chicago Paulina Kapuścińska stated that ridiculing the Poles’ intelligence on a nationwide broadcast is not only unjustified and hurtful but it also paints an erroneous picture about a big European nation.

“Such jokes about the Poles are xenophobic in nature and present those who tell them as promoters of prejudice”, said Consul Kapuścińska. “Besides, they are some of the most unsophisticated of jokes which offend the intellect of NPR listeners”, she added.

“For nearly a quarter of a century now Poland has been Europe’s success story because of the economic, scientific and political achievements of the Poles. This success would not have been possible without the Polish intelligence and resourcefulness”, Consul Kapuścińska concluded.

Following the letter, Executive Producer Mike Danforth called with explanations and, in a separate letter, offered apologies on behalf of the staff of Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!

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Letters:

“Mr. Michael Danforth
Executive Producer
WBEZ 91.5 (NPR) Chicago

Dear Mr. Danforth,

I am writing to you following a number of phone calls that poured in to my office from WBEZ listeners who felt offended by a distasteful joke about Poles which appeared on WBEZ’s program Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me last Saturday, October 26, 2013 in an episode Bluff the Listener.

The joke was about “how many Poles it takes to screw in a light bulb” and was told by the host Peter Sagal and Peter Grosz. Needless to say, it offended many Poles and Polish-Americans.

Jokes such as these offend your listeners in a number of ways:

firstly, they are xenophobic in nature and present Chicago NPR (WBEZ) as promoters of prejudice,

secondly, they are some of the most unsophisticated of jokes which offend the intellect of NPR listeners,

and lastly, they promote untrue stereotypes about Poles and Poland.

For nearly a quarter of a century now Poland has been Europe’s success story because of its economic, scientific and political achievements. In fact, many countries in Europe, Central Asia and North Africa nowadays rely on Poland’s example of good governance. This success would not have been possible without the intelligence and resourcefulness of the Poles. Therefore, offending the Poles’ intelligence on a nationwide broadcast is not only unjustified and hurtful, but it also paints an erroneous picture about a big European nation.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could see to this matter personally and rectify this distasteful situation by airing a suitable explanation in the next episode of the program in order to set the record straight with your listeners.

Yours sincerely,
Paulina Kapuścińska
Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago

BCC: The Polish-American media of Chicagoland and the Midwest”

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“Consul Kapuścińska,

Thank you for your note about our recent broadcast of Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! Your letter was one of several we received from listeners offended by our reference to an old Polish lightbulb joke. I want to let you know I received your letter and take your comments seriously.

I can’t disagree with your judgment that the content of our October 26th show was unsophisticated and insulting to the intellect of NPR listeners. I’m afraid just about everything we do on Wait Wait offends the intellect of the NPR audience. From the show’s inception we’ve considered ourselves to be “NPR Without The Dignity.” But, that’s not meant to excuse something you found hurtful. Finding that right mix of irreverence and comedy is a risky business and we sometimes step over the line. Never is it our intention to offend. Therefore we are grateful to our listeners for letting us know if a particular joke or story went too far. Since we failed in that objective, please accept my apology on behalf of the staff of Wait Wait.

From our conversation yesterday, I know you are a fan of public radio and appreciate its role in the media landscape. I sincerely hope that this instance will not diminish your respect for the hundreds of hours of quality public radio broadcasting outside of our show. And I do hope you’ll give us another chance in the future.

Thanks for your time,
Michael Danforth”

(Executive Producer, Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me!)