HEADACHE
THE PRICE OF OBSCENITY IN THE UNITED STATES
"This time they have to fire me,'' Stern said. "I'm through. I'm a dead man walking.''
Photos from L to R: 1. Todd Clem, host of the "Bubba the Love Sponge'' radio show, was fired last month by Clear Channel for his explicit broadcasts. Media companies are adjusting to a wave of protests on the decency issue. 2. Howard Stein.
NEW YORK - Shock jock and self-proclaimed "King of All Media'' Howard Stern believes his reign on the radio is coming to an end. "The show is over,'' he announced Friday morning on his nationally syndicated radio program. "It's over.' 'It's not - at least not yet. But Stern predicted that a Federal Communications Communication crackdown on indecency on the airwaves will force his salacious show off the dial. "I'm guessing that sometime next week will be my last show on this station,'' said Stern, adding that he expected the FCC to hit him with a whopping indecency fine. "There's a cultural war going on. The religious right is winning. We're losing.'' A telephone call to Infinity Broadcasting, which syndicates Stern's show, was not returned Saturday to discuss Stern's comments. On Friday, Stern devoted the first 2 1/2 hours of his show to his anticipated demise, a change of pace from the usual fare of naked women and toilet humor. Clear Channel Communications yanked Stern from stations in San Diego, Pittsburgh, Rochester, N.Y., Louisville, Ky., and Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Fla. on Feb. 25. The company said the suspension would last until the Stern show met its programming guidelines. "This time they have to fire me,'' Stern said. "I'm through. I'm a dead man walking.''On Thursday, Clear Channel paid a record $755,000 fine levied last month by the FCC for indecent material aired by several of its stations.
The U.S.'s largest radio chain has taken shock jock Howard Stern off its stations indefinitely for running afoul of new decency standards.
"We will not air Howard Stern on Clear Channel stations until we are assured that his show will conform to acceptable standards of responsible broadcasting," said a Wednesday statement from John Hogan, president and CEO of Clear Channel Radio. Stern was subdued but firm on air Thursday morning in response. "They are so afraid of me and what this show represents," he said. Earlier, he had wondered if he should even talk about the controversy. "I could blow my stack, but ... ," Stern said, trailing off. "A caller used the N word, and I hung up on him. "Stern was referring to his Tuesday morning interview with Rick Salomon, Paris Hilton's ex-boyfriend and the man involved in her infamous sex video. A person called in during the interview and used a racial slur. The company said Stern's suspension from its stations came after a review of his Tuesday broadcast. "Clear Channel drew a line in the sand today with regard to protecting our listeners from indecent content, and Howard Stern's show blew right through it," Hogan said. "It was vulgar, offensive and insulting, not just to women and African-Americans but to anyone with a sense of common decency." The statement did not outline what parts of Stern's show ran afoul of the policy or how long the suspension might last. Clear Channel operates 1,200 stations nationwide. It was unclear how many of its stations currently run Stern, who is syndicated across the country by another company, Infinity Broadcasting. The suspension applies only to Clear Channel stations. Earlier in the day, Clear Channel, which has been under fire from the Federal Communications Commission over allegedly indecent content aired on its stations, announced a zero-tolerance policy that called for immediate suspension of its on-air personalities who cross the line. Hogan said there would be "no appeals and no immediate steps" for DJs found in violation, and that on-air personalities employed by Clear Channel who were found to have violated FCC indecency rules would be fired. In January, the FCC announced it would fine Clear Channel $750,000 for allegedly indecent content aired by one of its DJs, Todd Clem, known as Bubba the Love Sponge. The company fired Clem on Tuesday. CNNNews.