The evening host on Chicago's "Kiss FM" has been fired for making a racial slur during his show on WKSC-FM, the Chicago Sun-Times said Thursday.

ADVERTISEMENT

Joel Murphy, aka "Java Joel" and host of "The Rubber Room," was fired Wednesday from the job he has held for three years at the Clear Channel station.

Murphy Tuesday night talked about adopting "three black kids" and "taking them to the zoo to see where they came from," the newspaper said.

In announcing the firing, WKSC General Manager John Gerhon issued a statement saying, "The comments made by Java Joel on the Jan. 11, 2005, show were inappropriate and do not reflect the opinions of WKSC or its employees."

A former winner of the Illinois Broadcasters Association's Silver Dome Award for Best Local Radio Station Personality of the Year, Murphy's show was also aired in Cleveland; Pittsburgh; Cincinnati; Louisville, Ky.; Jacksonville, Fla., and Rochester, N.Y.