Blizzard Of 2005

 

NBC 10 at mercy of Howard Stern prankster
01.26.05
http://www.phillyburbs.com

 

Crank caller Captain Janks has been busy lately. His latest victim? Philly's NBC 10.

On Sunday, Janks phoned in during a live report of the snow blizzard and blurted out, ''Hey, Howard Stern rules d***heads!''

Captain Janks, a regular guest on The Howard Stern Show, told Howard this morning that NBC 10 representatives paid him a visit as a result of the call, according to http://www.marksfriggin.com.

Janks alleges NBC 10 offered him $1,000 in exchange for a promise that he would no longer place phony phone calls to the station. Janks denied the offer.

If you're not familiar with Captain Janks'  prank calls, his goal is to call as many live TV and radio stations and  mention Howard Stern's name on the air.

His persuasive impersonation of government officials and celebrities is so effective that he's been able to fool screeners get on the air during breaking news stories such as Princess Diana's fatal car crash and the Jerry Lewis Telethon.

Janks' past targets have included The Rosie O' Donnell Show, Larry King Live, CNN, MSNBC, EPSN and  C-SPAN, Mother Angelica and ABC 6 affiliate, WPVI.

While Janks' calls are admittedly immature, they illustrate the fact that producers rarely perform a detailed check of a caller's credentials before putting them on air during breaking news stories.

 

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