It’s an unforgettable day when your inbox fills with e-mails from fanatical “American Idol” watchers calling you names like “the a** end of a jackass” and much, much worse. That’s exactly what happened when Tuesday’s Stark Country—which contained quotes from numerous country programmers expressing a lack of confidence in finalist Scotty McCreery’s chances for a long-term country music career—was picked up by USA Today’s “Idol Chatter” blog, which was then picked up by other popular “Idol” blogs.

Fans not only e-mailed me directly, they also commented endlessly on those blogs, expressing opinions ranging from the considered and articulate to a knee-slapping mix of nonsense and conspiracy theories. (One fan suggested that country programmers are being hard on McCreery because their children must be fans of fellow finalist Haley Reinhart, and they’re trying to help their kids’ favorite win by trashing her competitors. Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up!)

Back in the industry, the article also hit a sour note with several country broadcasters who felt that their colleagues in the original article, which you can read here, were being much too hard on the 17-year-old McCreery and not giving him a chance to find his voice as an artist.

The programming team at WQDR Raleigh, N.C., was particularly incensed, having just hosted local boy McCreery for a visit during his hometown appearance, taped last week to air on tonight’s semi-final show, where one of the three remaining contestants will be voted off.

PD/station manager Lisa McKay says, “We were horrified at the personal attack on Scotty by the other folks in country radio. It seemed at best inappropriate and at worst really mean spirited.”

Adds MD/night jock Billy Dukes, “I’m really embarrassed by our industry. I don’t need to defend Scotty. He’s an incredibly talented young man who sings God’s glory and looks you in the eye when he shakes your hand. He’ll be OK. [But] there’s never a need for that type of venom.”

McKay says WQDR has been re-christened “Scotty 94-7,” and they’ve created a new logo (pictured) and have t-shirts in the works, all to “support this talented, beloved teen 100%. See our Web siteand Facebook page for examples of the QDR love for Scotty,” she adds. “It is pretty remarkable.”

But another North Carolina air personality told me (not for attribution), “Scotty is huge here for obvious reasons, but it’s easy to see why many programmers haven’t warmed up to him.” So opinions remain mixed, as you’ll see from some of the letters that have come in responding to Tuesday’s article, several of which express accord with KEEY (K102) Minneapolis PD Gregg Swedberg, who championed McCreery and fellow finalist Lauren Alaina in the original article. Here’s a sampling of the industry feedback:

• Phathead, PD WJVC (My Country 96.1) Long Island, N.Y.: “After reading your article on the Idols, I have to say that I am stunned that there is such a backlash. Maybe it’s the mentality of established country stations and I’m not speaking with enough experience, or maybe there is a difference between an established country station and a new one up in New York. But on Facebook every Wednesday we have dozens and dozens of listeners discussing ‘Idol’ and its goings on, and all of them are in love with Scotty and Lauren. They will be screaming at us to play their songs once they are released. [I’m] shocked that those programmers wouldn’t give these kids a shot.

“I betcha when the ‘Idol’ tour comes to their city they will be giving away tix! One thing is for sure, Long Island will be playing Lauren and Scotty. P.S. Our first [‘American Idol’ tour] show at Nassau Coliseum went on sale and did so well that they just added a second show. That should tell you something considering last season they were playing to half empty arenas!”

• Joel Raab, Joel Raab Associates: “With all due respect to the anti-Scotty voices, I can say that country radio has an opportunity to gain new listeners by playing music from these ‘American Idol’ finalists, especially if one wins the title. Of course the music has to be there, but I think stations will miss an opportunity to expand our reach by being hyper critical of artists who have instant recognition.

“As for Scotty sounding like other artists, ‘puhleeze.’ Nearly every young artist starts out that way until he/she finds himself/herself. I agree with Swedberg that the guy has the quality of a true entertainer. In the multi-media world, we’d be foolish to overlook that opportunity.

“It’s great for the format that at least one of the finalists is a country artist. Even better if the ‘Idol’ finale is a country smackdown! Why are WE knocking them down before they even have a chance to grow?”

• Nate Deaton, GM KRTY San Jose, Calif.: “I always enjoy your columns with programmer comments. Today, I was reading this one and thinking to myself ‘Have these people lost their minds?’ Then Gregg Swedberg’s comments restored my faith in our format.

“Let me get this straight: One of the top-rated television shows in the country for the past 12 weeks has been showcasing our format to millions of potential listeners. Two of the finalists sing country music in almost every performance. Last week they did two duets from our format. (Oh, by the way, [this season’s fourth-place finisher] James Durbin won a local KRTY contest two years ago by singing ‘Bless The Broken Road.’)

“These two folks are still in the competition because they get over 25 million votes each week, and we are going to say ‘Sorry, we are not interested.’ ARE YOU CRAZY?

“We will welcome Scotty and Lauren with open arms. Please bring your legion of fans to our format. Maybe, just maybe, those of us in PPM markets will pick up a little outside cume for a change.”

• Denis “Catfish” Miller, PD KCHQ (Q102) Idaho Falls, Idaho: “Swedberg has his head on straight. Nice comments. Everybody else, here we go again: PDs acting as prognosticators (‘He’ll make it and she won’t’) before we even hear anything from them officially. ‘AI’ is not country radio, or anything close, and therefore cannot really be used as an accurate yardstick. The problem is, some PDs/MDs feel they have to ‘stick to their guns’ based on an earlier prediction about an artist or song so as to save face, and won’t give these artists a chance that they deserve based on their journey. THAT’S the problem when it comes to developing/airing new, fresh faces and voices in country music. Play it safe and you’ll be safe. Boring, but safe.”

• Randy “Mudflap” Wilcox, OM/PD/mornings WEGX (Eagle 92.9) Florence, S.C.: “Not having followed ‘Idol’ much this year, I have just recently been playing catch-up. I was intrigued by the thought of a teen doing the Josh Turner thing, and then I saw the homecoming concert video where Josh himself showed up on stage to sing with Scotty. For me, all that appearance did was cement the idea that a Josh Turner wannabe is just that—a wannabe. Josh on his day off blew this kid offstage vocally. Granted, he’s 17, and I remember Josh being a lot less confident in his early days on stage than he is now, so Scotty may grow into something. But it should be something that reflects him, and not his idols. Overall, he leaves me unimpressed.”

• David Miller, PD WBEJ Elizabethton, Tenn.: “I was a little surprised at how harsh some of the comments were on Scotty from ‘Idol.’ I agree that he needs to find his own style. I’m reminded about a story George Jones used to tell about meeting Hank Williams, Sr. He told Hank that he could sing all his songs and could sound just like him. Hank told George, ‘There is only one Hank Williams. You should try to sound like George Jones.’ Thank goodness he did.”

• Gwen Foster, Average Joe’s Entertainment: “It just occurred to me as I read the PD and MD opinions, here are all these radio people giving their two cents on these teen singers on some show that has only produced one real bona fide country star (sorry Kellie, Josh, Bucky). What I would do to get just a smidgen of their attention! How do these folks who are overworked and under paid (I know, I was in their boots not too long ago) have the time and energy to watch this faux talent contest, but not take time to listen and respond to those of us who are bringing them music and product to review? I’m not mad at them, I just find it ironic.”