Becka 'Touched' By Support He Received

Omaha City Councilman Frank Brown garnered enough votes to pass a non-binding resolution today asking radio station KFAB (1110 AM) to apologize for a parody that poked fun at the "Discover North Omaha" campaign.

The controversy over the faux commercial drew some national attention - and was even the subject of a five-minute segment Monday night on a BBC radio station.

Becka laughed at several stories that referred to him as a "shock jock."

"Yes, we are Howard Stern. Last Thursday, I was doing a remote broadcast while people were getting flu shots. I just talked about the Salvation Army. Yes, we are shock jocks on this program," Becka said with tongue firmly lodged in cheek.

The resolution also instructs the station's owner, Clear Channel, to devote resources to repair any damages the parody caused.

Several people, including two mothers of children slain in North Omaha, spoke against the resolution.

"I was touched by the people who stood up and said they supported me," Becka said. "I realize how important the right to free speech is because the biggest criticism of that parody is they didn't like the way I said it."

On his blog, Becka writes, "Let the record show that nobody showed up at the meeting to offer support for the resolution."

On its website, KFAB has posted the following statement:

"As you may be aware, there has been a lot of controversy in recent days surrounding the parody "Discover North Omaha" that aired on the Tom Becka Show. Newsradio 1110 KFAB apologizes to any listener that found the parody to be insensitive or offensive. KFAB does not condone violence. The intention of the parody was to create community awareness for the violence recently plaguing North Omaha in an effort to address the issue. Many ideas for creating positive change have come forward, and KFAB will continue discussions that lead to actions to make a difference in North Omaha, and in all our community, to make it the best that it can be."