Rape radio.

UPDATE: "Austereo has formed the view that it is in the interest of all parties for The Kyle And Jackie O Show to go into recess until we have completed an across-the-networks review of the principals and protocols of our interaction with our audience." In other words, they've been yanked off the air. Hoo. Ray.

30 JULY (Original Post):I grew up listening to Howard Stern -- even wrote reams of marketing material for Stern's channels when he moved to Sirius -- so I'm aware of and admit to occasionally enjoying tasteless radio.

But not predatory radio. Or, to be more specific, rape radio.

A top-rated morning drive-time show in Sydney is called 'Kyle & Jackie O' (shown above). They fit a standard Aussie radio show model: Blokey male/glamorous female/gay announcer. Kyle Sandilands is known throughout Australia as the 'mean' judge on Australian Idol (yes, that plague annually infects Aussie airwaves). His radio persona isn't much different: Big-mouthed, witless, bullying, self-absorbed, charmless. Jackie O is equal parts gorgeous and vacuous. In the male-dominated domain of Australian media, that's a million-dollar combination.

Yesterday's hilarity included strapping a 14-year-old girl to a lie detector while her mother -- brimming with concern about her daughter's reckless behaviour -- peppered her with questions. As heard in the clip above, her mother asked if she was sexually active:

I've already told you the story about this ... and don't look at me and smile because it's not funny.

The girl is quiet, and then says:

Oh, okay, I got raped when I was 12 years old.

Sandilands' immediate response?

Right, is that the only experience you've had?

Let that response roll around your head. Despite the bit blowing up live on air, the witless wonder remained committed to wringing the segment of every possible drop of teenage sexual titillation. His radio partner seemed genuinely gobsmacked and apologetic, and strangely offered counseling to the girl. Counseling? This girl's gonna need an army of therapists and a silo of medication with a mother who admitted to knowing about the rape but must have doubted her daughter's story and thought it wise to force the girl to prove its veracity on a live radio program in Australia's largest city.

The girl has been wronged here, in so many ways, by everyone involved.

But it gets worse.

This morning, the two referred to the previous day's wretchedness as weird and Sandilands said he wished he'd chosen his words 'a bit more cleverly'. He's also attacked Aussie media outlets for making the story 'all go a bit crazy.'

When you know, deep down in his glitter-covered, STD-infested heart, he's loving every second of the attention, regardless of the cost to a 14-year-old rape victim.

A group is now calling the girl's admission 'brave' and praised her for breaking 'the silence on child sexual assault'. Admitting to personal horror against one's will doesn't make this girl a hero. She's a victim. Masking her exploitation and cruelty moves the bulls-eye off the moronic mother and bottom-dwelling radio hosts who misjudged the wisdom of a Jerry Springer-style stunt on live morning radio and must now answer to charges of felonious child abuse.