Using the F-word Between Records

Using the F-word between records may cost you your DJ job, but apparently it doesn't mean you have to quit radio altogether.

Former KGB disc jockey Diane Ray is back on the air playing classic rock hits on "The Planet" (103.7 FM) on the weekends. Last month she was also hired as a part-time announcer on KPBS-FM.

Ray earned notoriety for a traffic report she filed July 5 of this year. No longer with KGB, she was working for Metro Networks at the time, which provides traffic reports to stations that subscribe to the service. One of the reports she inexplicably filed revealed her in a moment of frustration using two forbidden words: one that begins with an F and one that begins with a C. The saucy report aired on classical music station KFSD (AM 1450), which runs on automation. KFSD got listener complaints and forwarded them to Metro Networks. Ray left the employ of Metro Networks the following week.

One local DJ, who didn't want to be identified, said that because it was an "honest mistake," Ray should be given some slack.

"We've all said things in front of a microphone we probably shouldn't have. Having used an automated system like that before, I can see how an accident like that can occur."

Doug Myrland, general manager of KPBS-FM, said he knew about the incident but did not want to comment on it specifically.

"I don't want to comment about an experience with a previous employer." Myrland said KPBS gave Ray "a full assessment, and we were very satisfied about her potential to be a good employee here.... All of us who have worked on the air have made mistakes. We have also had nightmares about making mistakes we didn't even make."

Ray could not be reached for comment.