Jets radio flagship WFAN "rejected a Jets-themed ad" on
Monday because Station Program Dir Mark Chernoff said he
"felt uncomfortable" approving the spot before checking with
Jets President Steve Gutman, according to Steve Zipay of
NEWSDAY. The ad, paid for by Bring Our Jets Home, a Long
Island fan association of 226 members, is part of the
group's campaign to return the Jets to N.Y. "on or before
2008, when the team's lease at the Meadowlands expires."
Chernoff said the ad was rejected because as the team's
flagship station, "it could come across as something we're
advocating." Chernoff: "But I haven't heard back from the
Jets. If the Jets don't care, we'll run it." Zipay notes
that the relationship between WFAN and the Jets "has become
intriguing," as "it took until" Wednesday afternoon for the
Saturday night arrests of two Jets players "to be a topic of
discussion" on the station's weekday "Mike and the Mad Dog
Show." Zipay: "WFAN has carried Jets games since 1994 as
part of a multi-million-dollar broadcast pact with the team.
Why tempt fate?" (NEWSDAY, 7/16).
