Clampdown

Howard Stern isn't the only recent casualty of the indecency crackdown: Clear Channel fired the infamous Florida shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge earlier this week.

Comments

[Andy]

Mo writes:
Before you laud XM, lets remember CC has a hefty investment in that.

This makes want to break out my tinfoil hat. Suppose CC is getting the "interesting" stuff off of the free airwaves and putting it on XM so that people will pay for it? Nah...not likely. Is it?

[late for the boom]

Andy, your not the first one to make the connection... during the senate hearings in which they grilled Clear Channel execs, Sen. McCain brought up the point a number of times, each time he recieved very cryptic answers.

It would make business sense on the part of CC to move more racey and high demand radio shows off 'free' radio to a clearly more profitable medium. (XM)

Any radio exec that feigns outrage over an over the air stunt is obviously pandering to a public response. Radio and Television are all about ratings, controversy ALWAYS drives ratings. Outraged americans always tune in to see Victorias Secret thong clad woman, then call ABC to complain after beig 'forced' to watch for an hour. Execs know this, anyone who thinks for themselves know this, hell even the puritans know this, but as americans love to do, we must stir up contraversy.

So we all play this game about being 'shocked and outraged' as we cheat on our wives, hire prostitutes to blow us in the back alleys, engage in national college sex scandels, anxiously await the next Paris Hilton sex video to hit one of the thousands of pay per view porn sites that make billions off of the puritan Americans that subscribe to them.

Shock and outrage is the way we make ourselves not feel so guilty about all the sexual pleasures we partake in, while pretending we dont.

[Jon H]

Don't cry too hard for Stern. He was only on a handful of Clear Channel stations. Four or so.

It's not like he's being wiped off the airwaves.

[bigbigslacker]

CCs actions make SOME sense even without the tin foil hat. If you take them at their word (uh...) they are going to remove any content they feel has, or may have, broken the law (FCC rules that is). This makes good business sense. Why place your company on the losing side of, for example, a $750,000 fine from the FCC - not to mention a possible Jesse Jackson boycott. In addition, such fines and devaluation of stock could be argued to be a result of negligence on the part of management. In which case there may be grounds for a class action suit from their investors for failing to act in a way that increases shareholder value.

If you automatically think of this as a left-right issue, consider the specific days programming cited by CC in their Stern (pun may or may not be intended) decision. He allowed on his show what some people, typically on the left, would call "hate speech". It may not be entirely hypocritical of them to allow the same programming on XM radio, where it might not be "illegal". If their argument was entirely one of morality, then fire away. But it wasn't. It was business and law. As an advertiser, you can now pay to have your product advertised in a safer market - Clear Channel. I don't think many retailers would want their ads appearing right after a Stern show caller's comments regarding "watermelons". Of course certain advertisers might be attracted to that sort of thing as well. Now they know where not to advertise.

[Cap'n Janks]

Baba booey...

[dhex]

BEHOLD THE AWESOME AND TERRIBLE POWER OF BOOBIES!

[Mojo]

A politically cost free way of throwing a bone to the social conservatives before an election.

[dhex]

if one's sense of humor is sharp enough, there is more comedy in the FCC than ever appeared on howard stern.

i never quite understood the appeal of stern myself (tying jerry seinfeld for least funny person ever?), but the idea of people cheering FCC regulators is even more difficult to comprehend.

[David2]

I warned my listeners just a few weeks ago that this was going to happen. This is just the beginning folks...

The Clear Channel Empire is more than free to be as sanitized as it feels it needs to be in order to satisfy the whims of Commisar Powell and the FCC. That just means that guys like Bubba and Stern and Opie and Anthony will just go to XM Satillite radio, where no such limitations exist, or to the Internet, where they can be as offensive as they wish. True listeners will no doubt be willing to pay the $10 per month to hear their favorite shock jocks.

And once Clear Channel becomes the "Clean Channel", and they air nothing but empty-headed fluff and overplayed crap (read: "payola"), they'll be duly rewarded with a first-class invitation to bankruptcy court.

[MALAK]

Am I the only one who thinks that Stern has a (very) limited shelf life? His schtick gets old real quick. He's no longer in the Toronto market, and when he was it was funny for several weeks. But I'm sure if I tuned in now it would be the same old, same old.

[SteveInClearwater]

Ever since his station was first fined in 1997 for comments he made, Clem (Bubba TLS) has repeatedly asked, "Just tell me the rules. Define them precisely, and I'll comply."

So of course they haven't. And his tactic was to of course use euphemisms for body parts and sexual acts. Most often, frankly, his references were direct and fairly clinical.

Male sex organ? Penis. Not pecker, dong, dork, weiner, tube steak...better stop now, or we'll this Thread will take a hard left turn down that dusty, dirty road, if you know what I mean, and I think you do.

I heard Stern from about 1991-6 in Dallas, then I moved to Florida in early 1998. I didn't listen much to Bubba for first three years, but after plodding thru the rest of available moring shows, I plugged into his show and became a very big fan.

Offensive? Oh yeah. Even my wife is a fan, but she has a much shorter fuse than I do. There was more than a little bit of crude and insulting comments made about plus sized gals, of which my wife is a dues paying member depending on the time of the year, and she would force me to turn it off some days.

But funny? Oh yeah, oh yeah.

REALLY funny at times. And just as often for simple life oddities (commenting on the daily news, ala Stern/Quivers, were usually best programming segments) as for blue or crass humor.

Not sure about you guys, but I've been taught that steady and reliable laughter is one of life's most needed actions. And since I spend about 2-3 hours a day in vehicle between job sites and home, I value funny radio more so than news and/or music.

One need not approve of the entire program to be able and pluck many excellent humor nuggets.

Clem's response to the idea of his having to meet 'community standards'? He sez, hey I was number one (by a mile) in the marketplace for the past five years. That sure sounds like the community is ok with me."

[ewilliam]

I'll say! Let the Clear Channel Empire drop them. Right now, I can't listen to Stern, because KROK won't allow his program to be webcast, and I don't get any FM station that carries him. Let the FCC do as they will. Clear Channel can drop whatever they want. And XM/Sirius will become the HBO's of the airwaves. Bring it on, baby!

[Aliandra]

Well where does the distinction between public and private come in? This is like stocking porn in a public library. Some people will complain that since it's their taxes supporting the library, offensive stuff shouldn't be there. And the porn loving taxpayers will complain that their tastes should be reflected. So now it's the same problem with public airwaves.

What to do? Just privatize everything.

[dutiful listener]

If Stern is worth listening to, then other stations will pick him up and make Clear Channel's money. If no one does, it's probably a good indicator that he didn't have a worthwhile show to begin with. The FCC didn't do this to him, CC did.

David2, by "empty-headed fluff" you mean asinine stunts and interviews with Paris Hilton's movie-maker? Oh.

[David 2]

dl: by "empty-headed fluff", I mean dee-jays spending airtime talking about what they talked about the previous day while getting their nails done (94.9), or turning on the TV to the soap opera of the moment (they don't say which one) and commenting on it before turning back to the callers or asking about what to get for lunch (105.3). This is what you hear from the "clean" stations here in Atlanta. I'd much rather have the stupid DJ stunts, crazy contests, and adult film stars.

And I'm not saying that Stern doesn't go down the mindless path, but at least he doesn't have that as his entire show.

On the plus side, there is one station that just changed formats that prides itself in just playing music with the occasional commercials and doesn't allow the dee-jays to talk. I'd much rather have that than "Where's the intern? I want my ham and pastrami sandwich!"

[Mo]

Before you laud XM, lets remember CC has a hefty investment in that.

[Douglas Fletcher]

I wish I wasn't so damn old that I can remember when the radio was actually something worth listening to. Who would believe it, I once actually learned quite a bit about all kinds of music & cultures just from tuning in to my favorite commercial FM radio stations. Christ, you would have almost thought it was a public service or something.

[JimInNoVA]

Steve - Elliot of Elliot in the Morning here in DC is making the same argument. He's also with Clearchannel, and he also got mentioned at the FCC public shaming session. No defined standards of any kind as to what they can and cannot say. And his show is #1 in DC, and is getting good numbers being syndicated in Richmond and the Eastern Shore. Sounds like he's "acting in the public interest" to me.

Shameless plug for his show, trying to keep it on the air: http://www.elliotinthemorning.com