[Germ]

Another email received today:

Mr. Germany:

Your concern was passed onto me, thank you for writing.

The running gag you refer to is a total and complete fabrication. It is
used to make fun of "Southside Steve" on the show for doing something so
horrible, not only to an animal, but to betray his grandmother as well.
What kind of person would do that?

For the sake of the bit they say he did this when he was a teenager and did
so because he needed the money. They do not encourage others to do so nor
do they endorse it in any way. It's the other way around. Steve gets a
verbal beating and treated as a lowlife for this alleged event.
It's all made up and just as elaborate as a Seinfeld bit. Many ficticious
acts are portrayed in movies, and on television and radio. Some patients
die each week on ER, the same scenario is often played out in sitcoms, but
no one actually dies in the making of the show and the same can be said of
this situation with Steve, his grandmother, and her dog.

I realize that not everyone laughs at the same jokes, and that someone may
not find the humor in the abuse Steve takes for something he never did. But
we are not suggesting that what is being alleged in the bit is acceptable in
anyway.

Again, I thank you for writing and giving us an opportunity to explain.

Sincerely,

Tim Dukes
Dir./Programming
Clear Channel-Atlanta