9 September 28–OctOber 4, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents “We’re using every tool at our disposal,” Mayo said. “There’s a lot of tools being de- ployed toward this end because the city has failed to do their job. So, until they do, we’ll continue to use every legal or political ave- nue we have to address these problems.” Explaining what she hopes to get out of the complaint, Cisneros said, “We’re in dire need of what white neighborhoods in Dallas already have. “We want residential rights. Rezone our homes to residential. That’ll give us the abil- ity to repair our homes and avoid the need to knock them down when they get in bad shape.” She said a zoning change would also help residents block industrial polluters from moving into the neighborhood. “We want our community back,” she said. “The growth that was taken from us, we want it again.” ▼ MEDIA ‘NOT DUMB’ THE TICKET’S LATEST BATTLE DRAWS NATIONAL ATTENTION. BY KELLY DEARMORE D an McDowell and Jake Kemp, co- hosts of The Dumb Zone podcast, and former 1310 The Ticket radio hosts, are recording and releasing new epi- sodes at a fairly steady rate. For now, at least. A recent judge’s ruling represents merely the latest page in the summer-long story that has seen The Ticket, one of the area’s most popular radio station, embroiled in a type of battle it’s never faced before. The former hosts of 1310 The Ticket’s midday The Hang Zone program left the sta- tion over the summer, announcing their sta- tus on July 20 on Youtube after prolonged contract negotiations fell apart. The pair, who had been together as co-hosts since 2020, quickly moved to start their new pod- cast venture in short order, premiering their fist The Dumb Zone episode on July 25. The small amount of time between the duo’s departure from the station and the be- ginning of their new venture is at the heart of the ongoing legal drama. In August, Susquehanna Radio issued McDowell and Kemp a cease-and-desist or- der, claiming the men were violating their contracts’ noncompete clauses. Within the first few weeks of podcasting on the Patreon platform, The Dumb Zone has attracted nearly 5,000 subscribers. Once it was clear The Dumb Zone would not cease and/or desist, their former em- ployer sued them, accusing the new show of being nearly “identical” to their old show, yet the episodes continue to roll out. Susquehanna, and its owner, Cumulus Media, wanted a judge to stop that. On Friday, Sept. 15, a federal judge denied a motion from Susquehanna Radio to issue a temporary restraining order against Mc- Dowell and Kemp to keep them from releas- ing new episodes of The Dumb Zone. After being more freewheeling with their comments regarding the case in the pod- cast’s earlier days, McDowell and Kemp aren’t saying much publicly about it right now. Perhaps that’s because things have got- ten a tad contentious between the two sides in recent weeks. An attorney for McDowell and Kemp told the Observer that the defendants, as well as the rest of their legal team, including former Dallas city council member, and pre- vious Observer contributor, Philip Kingston, have agreed to not grant interviews or pro- vide comments to the media for the time be- ing. For their part, the attorneys representing Susquehanna Radio did not re- spond to our requests for comment. But that’s now. It seems as though the agreement to not speak about the case in public was made at some point this month, because plenty was being said prior to Sep- tember. Both McDowell and Kemp gave in- terviews after leaving the station and didn’t shy away from a certain amount of legal chatter on their show, where Susquehanna claims they “mocked” the actions taken against them. But also, Kingston, who co- hosts the Loserville podcast, spoke rather openly about the case during an Aug. 31 ep- isode. Along with getting into some of the de- tails regarding the case, Kingston took some shots at opposing counsel. When discussing the plaintiff’s claims that the new podcast has taken listeners away from the station, Kingston had some thoughts. “I guess I should feel bad for making fun of the Ticket’s legal team,” Kingston said not too long after he called out one the opposing attor- neys as being way overpaid in his estimation. “But they have been such jerks that I kinda don’t. So, it’s an absolutely stupid theory.” The judge has asked both sides to “make this case go away,” but there’s reason to be- lieve that will not be so easy. The opponents each have plenty to fight for, far more than just a simple decision on whether or not The Dumb Zone can keep releasing new epi- sodes. At the center of this case is a debate over noncompete clauses. It’s long been a stan- dard item in contracts for on-air radio per- sonalities to be kept from going back on the air within six months of leaving their sta- tion. McDowell and Kemp say that since their new venture is a podcast behind a pay- wall (Patreon) that releases episodes at varying hours, among other differences, it isn’t the same as joining another radio sta- tion, and therefore, isn’t a violation of their noncompete clauses. Susquehanna, how- ever, counters that it’s close enough. The Dumb Zone hosts also claim the non- compete clauses are overly broad and are not legally enforceable. With likely thou- sands of radio personnel under contracts with similar clauses, Susquehanna, and ar- guably all other massive radio conglomer- ates, stands to be handed a devastating defeat should the podcast with a funny name find victory in this matter. The potentially seismic nature of this lo- cal case has caught the attention of many well beyond the Ticket’s already massive au- dience. On Monday, The Washington Post published a story noting that a bit of fortu- nate timing may be working in the duo’s fa- vor, thanks to a May ruling saying that broad noncompete clauses may violate federal la- bor law. “And that is giving hope to McDowell and Kemp, who are seeking to have the law- suit be one of the first test cases for the new interpretation,” the Post article reads. “At stake is not just the future of the co-hosts’ musings about the Dallas Cowboys schedule and Disney casting controversies, but also the status of millions of other workers across the country affected by noncompete clauses that many economists believe un- fairly restrict workers’ options.” The Washington Post, who sent a photog- rapher to McDowell’s house to take pictures of the hosts and the show’s apartment ga- rage studio, even had a Harvard Law School professor review the case. Professor Sharon Block indicated that McDowell and Kemp are onto something with this case, perhaps the most intriguing such scenario we’ve seen in North Texas media in recent years. “The hosts of ‘The Dumb Zone’ are not, in fact, being dumb,” Block said to the paper. “Part of having agency in your own eco- nomic life is being able to take your skills, join with your co-workers, and bring them to where you think they’re best utilized — and in this case the hosts were being sued because they were trying to do that.” Nathan Hunsinger Jake Kemp (center) with David Mino and former Ticket personality Julie Dobbs inside the 1310 The Ticket studios. Hand built not bougHt. Franklins TaTToo and supply TWo loCaTions: 469-904-2665 • 4910 Columbia ave, dallas, TX 75214 open now • 903-710-2028 • 17581 old Jacksonville hwy, flint tx 75762 proFessional TaTToo supply For pros only Call for your appointment or design commissions today!
