Czech-Mate

Protest briefly occupies Q104 office, station refuses to drop "mail-order bride" contest

by Miles Howe

Halifax - A protest of about 25 people took place today, March 8th, International Women's Day, outside the Q104 fm station on 3770 Kempt Road, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The protest revolved around the sweeps contest known as “The Male is in the Czech”, in which bachelors in the scope of Q104's airwaves can win a trip to Prague, where they can then win dates with Czech women. While the contest does not actually offer a mail-order Czechoslovakian woman as a winning prize, Q104's website, which touts the headlines “The Mighty Q is giving away a “Mail-Order Bride””, does nothing to suggest otherwise. Nor does a link on the site, where the web surfer is redirected to the site czech-bride.com.

The protest today momentarily occupied the “Mighty Q's” office. Staff at the office reacted in a variety of manners, and while one DJ spoke to the protestors, another staffer quickly telephoned for the police, who monitored the interaction in silence before escorting the protestors outside.

Please enjoy the following audio, which is a variety of interviews. First up is J.C Douglas, program director of Q104. Next is Bruce Nesbitt, bachelor #3 in the “Male is in the Czech” contest. Next is Lori Ehler, a protestor. Finally is the interaction between protestors and staff inside the Q104 office.

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