Killing my free speech
 

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/26/bu...6radio.html?hp

I am so angry about this. Chicago still picks up Howard Stern but it's been dropped in several cities. I am livid because government resources which come from the taxes of people like myself are not being used to chase down bin laden but instead funds the efforts of Powell in the FCC.

Powell is a frigging Nazi. He is pushing forth along with select members of congress efforts to try and bring back "decency". You know what I have to say about decency? Fuck that. Fuck that and the stooge that you are. Fuck that and fuck congress.

This is a station that people want to listen to. We listen to the advertisers on this program. It's not as if Kitchenaid and Sesame street are advertising here to bring 5 year olds on.

-Rudey
--Send a big middle finger to anyone who can't understand free speech.

Rudes:
Clear Channel broadcasts on typical radio stations, correct? (Not just internet streams?)

What time do they normally play HS and that Love Sponge guy that got fired? B/c if its past 9 or "decency hours" or whatever....I completely agree with you.

Bubba The Love Sponge played on 98 Rock's Morning Show that broadcasts from here in Tampa, FL. His show was also played in CT, other areas of FL, as well as a few other states. The fact is that you can CHANGE THE STATION! As someone who knows MANY people at Clear Channel - most are DJ's - this is really frustrating. I'm sorry but I don't want the gov't telling me what I can and cannot listen to - they already restrict so many of my other freedoms, why this one too?

Bubba Love Sponge had a morning radio show. I think he was on from 6am until 10am. I listened to him almost everyday while driving to work. He really wasn't that bad. I think the reason the FCC is pissed is because Bubba spoke his mind and didn't care what anyone else thought. He had a lot of things to say about the FCC and Clear Channel. He spoke the truth and the FCC hated that.
Any young child would not be listening to his radio show that time of day because either they're in school or they're getting a ride to school from the bus driver or a parent (and in that case the parents should be monitoring what their kids are listening to).

I am not a Howard Stern fan at all but this is not at all about decency.This is about election PR.
Of the 1000 or so Clear Channel owned stations,his program was removed from only 6.(Orlando,Fort Lauderdale,San Diego,Pittsburgh,Louisville,and Rochester).Most of Howard's shows are broadcast by Infinity.This is not a big revenue loss to Clear Channel and Howard will be picked up by someone else.I have said it before but Lowrey Mays,the CEO of Clear Channel,is a longtime Bush friend and major campaign supporter.I suspect that this is nothing more than an attempt to court moral majority type voters.


On weds show,he told his listeners that "it is time for Bush to go." He complained about Bush stanch on gay marriage and the time Bush may or may not have spent in the national guard.Howard told his listeners to really look at what Bush and company have been saying in comparison to what they are doing and to get out and vote.

The next day he is pulled from the air on all Clear Channel stations.
I don't know what else it could be besides politically motivated.

He's on at a time of the day when children should be supervised by parents, or in school.

This is totally about election PR, and pandering to a group of people who have the need to control others.

So much for the 1st ammendment.:mad:

Am I the only person whose mother would change the station while driving me to school when the dj's starting talking about sex??! Sorry, but they were on an ADULT CONTEMPORARY station, and music played was vulgar anyway. My point- I learned from my mother what was acceptable and what wasn't.;

Your kids should be in school or supervised. If you let them listen to rap or whatever, honestly what the djs have to say is not any different.

Well...that's sort of true and sort of not. I listened to Bubba when I was in 8th grade getting ready for and going to school in the mornings. That was back when he was on 93.3. He got worse when he moved to 98 Rock. We got a ride to school with my friend's older brother, who of course listened to his show. And kids had walkmans (illegally) at school in the mornings so they were listening to it on the bus on the way there or while they were waiting for homeroom to begin. So really, the young kids can and are hearing it.

However, I'm not saying this is wrong or that I have any thing against him or Howard Stern. In fact, this is one issue on which I'm in complete agreeance with Rudey. It's just the nature of his show - you know he's going to say something that is crass so if you don't want the FCC to crack down on your station, don't broadcast the show! But then don't wonder why you don't have any listeners.

I think the FCC is freaking out over nothing. So that's really where the issue is. Howard Stern has been on for years - in fact, I bet he considers FCC fines part of his overhead costs. Obviously people want to hear it - so it can't be that bad. If the FCC and Powell or whoever is so considered with brining back "decency" I think they're looking in the wrong places.

Just to clarify - Bubba did NOT get fired soley because of what is going on with the FCC. He ended up getting fired because he changed his political views and the big dog at Clear Channel didn't like that he wasn't backing the republican party anymore. Short story version of all the recent Clear Channel BS here in Tampa, FL.

I'll take a nation full of moral equivalency and tolerance any day over this current inquisition of popular culture that is occuring right now.

Seriously, what gives these people the right to decide what is "decent"? Whose standards are they going on here? I didn't hear about any change in the law. Howard Stern as he said was doing nothing on his show that he hasn't done for the past 20 years. So what the hell gives?

This moral inquisition is really getting on my nerves.

I'm considering for the first time in my life a vote for a Democratic presidential candidate because of this crap. The religious right has seemingly taken over the conservative agenda and it really pisses me off. 4 years ago, I had thought the Bush administration to be one with a true conservative agenda when it came to education, taxes, etc.. Now when it comes to pushing forward the religious agenda... I mean, why the hell would they do that? It's not like they have to prove anything to these folks.. They're solid Republican votes anyhow.

This election makes me feel like I have a choice between electing Karl Marx or the Christian Taliban.

All Heil Commisioner Powell!!!
 

I've supported the efforts to allow for greater deregulation of ownership regulations, but now I'm reconsidering the breadth, and scope of these proposals.

The naked political motivation of the CEO of Clear Channel is alarming.

Now, this isn't a very well-investigated statement on my part, but everything I've read and heard about Clear Channel entertainment leads me to think it's an evil, evil, evil, censoring place.

Just another FYI about Clear Channel - it seems as if they're doing some MAJOR restructuring on how the DJ's do their jobs.
Clear Channel's new policies
Clear Channel Imposes Strict New Standards For Broadcast Decency

Company announces ‘Responsible Broadcasting Initiative’

San Antonio, TX (February 25, 2004) – Clear Channel today announced a strong new “Responsible Broadcasting Initiative” to make sure the material aired by its radio stations conforms to the standards and sensibilities of the local communities they serve.

“Clear Channel is serious about helping address the rising tide of indecency on the airwaves,” said Mark Mays, President and COO of Clear Channel Communications. “As broadcast licensees, we are fully responsible for what our stations air, and we intend to make sure all our DJs and programmers understand what is and what is not appropriate on Clear Channel radio shows.”

Mays said the company will institute a zero tolerance policy for indecent content which will include company-wide training and automatic suspensions for anyone that the FCC alleges has
violated indecency rules on the air. “If the FCC accuses us of wrongdoing by issuing a proposed fine, we will take immediate
action,” Mays said. “We will suspend the DJ in question, and perform a swift investigation. If we or the government ultimately determine the offending broadcast is indecent, the DJ will be
terminated without delay,” Mays said.

John Hogan, Chief Executive Officer of Clear Channel Radio addded, “If a DJ is found to be in violation of FCC rules, there will be no appeals and no intermediate steps. If they break the law
by broadcasting indecent material, they will not work for Clear Channel.”

In addition, the company announced that all of its contracts with on-air performers are being modified to ensure that DJs share financial responsibility if they utter indecent material on the
air. “From now on, every contract that Clear Channel enters into with on-air talent will include this provision,” said Hogan. “While that won’t relieve Clear Channel from our responsibility as a
broadcast licensee, we believe it will have a significant deterrent effect on indecent content.”

Contact:

Lisa Dollinger
Senior Vice President
Corporate Communications
San Antonio, TX
210-822-2828
LisaDollinger@clearchannel.com

Andrew Levin
Executive Vice President
Law and Government Affairs
Washington, DC
202-289-3230
AndyLevin@clearchannel.com

Is anyone else amused that a company that has homogenized radio and kept many valid artists from getting airplay complaining about "decency"? If the way CC conducts business isn't indecent, I don't know what is.

It's kinda like Taco Hell criticizing Ruth's Chris Steak House for using substandard cuts of meat.

I emailed whomever I could today to say how upset I am. I feel exactly like ktsnake here. I want a damn normal government that can crush the shiznit out of terrorist worms but still be freaking normal at home and keep their bibles and decisions on morality in the private sector. I don't believe that this is completely done in the private sector because I know that the FCC has been rampaging around and Powell is trying to make his name - election time is evidently the best time to make your name.

-Rudey
--Stupid retards

This whole incident just may make Howard Stern more popular than ever. There used to be a saying that the fastest way for a book to make the New York Times bestseller list, was to be banned by the Boston Archdiocese.

Hopefully, Clear Channel will have enough decency to allow the Howard Stern Show to obtain new affiliates in those markets.

i don't know why they have just decided to pull the plug now. howard stern has always pushed the limit on the radio and in public.

Although this could be why...

-----------
Stern Blames Suspension on Janet Jackson's Breast

18 minutes ago

Add Entertainment - Reuters to My Yahoo!

By Larry Fine

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Radio shock-jock Howard Stern on Thursday blamed a conservative backlash prompted by the exposure of singer Janet Jackson (news)'s breast on television for the suspension of his show after a broadcast including talk of anal sex and offensive racial slurs.


Reuters Photo

AP Photo

Slideshow: Clear Channel Suspends Stern's Radio Show

_

Stern was dumped by Clear Channel Communications Inc., which carries his syndicated show in six U.S. markets, over segment of the show on Tuesday.


During on-air banter with Rick Salomon -- whose claim to fame is a widely distributed tape of him having sex with reality TV star Paris Hilton -- a caller asked Salomon if he had ever had sex with a famous black woman, using offensive language.


Stern on Thursday blamed the disciplinary move on a backlash over pop diva Jackson's exposing her breast during a halftime show at the football Super Bowl on February 1, which was broadcast live.


He faulted a radio station general manager for not hitting the delete button to stop the words being transmitted.


"They (Clear Channel) are being forced to say that I did something wrong," he said on Thursday's broadcast.


"I'm under attack. They've been after me since 1992, and they're having their way with me," he said referring to repeated troubles he has had with regulators. "Then Janet Jackson whipped out her boob and it's all over."


Stern's New York-based show is syndicated by Infinity Broadcasting, a unit of Viacom Inc., which also owns television networks CBS and MTV. CBS broadcast the Super Bowl, TV's most-watched event, and MTV produced the halftime show.


Infinity declined comment, as did Viacom, whose President Mel Karmazin vowed to crack down on sexually explicit material in the aftermath of the Super Bowl flap.


VULGAR AND OFFENSIVE


Stern was pulled off radio stations in Rochester, N.Y., Pittsburgh, San Diego, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Fla., and Louisville, Ky. indefinitely, by San Antonio, Texas-based Clear Channel. He remains in about three dozen other U.S. markets.


"It was vulgar, offensive and insulting, not just to women and African Americans but to anyone with a sense of common decency," Clear Channel Radio President John Hogan said in a statement issued on Wednesday.


The radio giant, with over 1,200 outlets, also complained that Stern asked Salomon about anal sex and the size of his penis. On Thursday, Stern thumbed his nose at that complaint by replaying that segment on the air.


The move against Stern came a day after Clear Channel fired Florida radio's "Bubba the Love Sponge," after federal regulators accused him of airing sexually graphic material.


Stern suggested another motive for being pulled off the air. "They don't admit it in the press but they have admitted to me that they are doing this because they (Clear Channel executives) are being hauled in front of Congress," he told listeners on Thursday.

Hogan was testifying on Thursday before a Congressional committee hearing in Washington on a proposed law to tighten decency standards in the media.

Dr. Paul Levinson, head of the Communication and Media Studies department at Fordham University, said he thought it was "hypocritical" of Hogan to suspend Stern rather than defend his rights to free speech.

"With the Super Bowl incident,. a lot of people were totally surprised by that. But no one can be surprised by what they hear on the Howard Stern show," Levinson said. "Clear Channel is just going along with what the government wants. (Additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles)

----------------
Bottom line... GET OVER IT!

Maybe the anal sex or racial slurs.

According to Stern the FCC has been after him since 1992. Infinity Broadcasting was fined 1.7 million in 1995 because of Stern. Who was the President from 1992-2000?

I am not a fan of Howard Stern at all.I have never heard one of his broadcasts nor do I have any intention of doing so.I am a firm believer in changing the station if I don't like what is on.That being said,I am even less of a fan of Lowery Mays and his blatant political motivations.Why is political motivation such a stretch for you to believe in this case?
My guess as to why Infinity didn't get rid of Howard,is that he generates a huge profit for them. Otherwise his moronic show would have been off the air a long time ago. C'mon Max,you have to admit that if Howard were on more Clear Channels stations and was turning more of a profit for them,they wouldn't have gotten rid of him.Six stations out of more than a 1000 is nothing for CC.They don't even have to hire disc jockeys to fill his time slot,they will fill it with a totally automated program.They are out nothing and they look really good to the FCC and the Bush administration because they "cleaned up their airwaves."
I am the last peson to be politically confrontational and I hate being so cynical but to me this is a no brainer.

I just want to say that Howard Stern is a genius. I'd rather watch him than gay Jay Leno.

-Rudey

How do you know that his show is moronic, if you've never heard it?

I find his daily satirical commentary on the entertainment industry to be genius.

If only Ross Perot was running our country, then we wouldn't have this shiznit:

http://www.ask-steve.com/2003/06/clear_channel_t.html

Howard says you can't beat the government. Fuck that. The government represents me and it damn well better listen to me.

-Rudey

I just want to say that Howard Stern is a genius. I'd rather watch him than gay Jay Leno.

-Rudey







You know,you are absolutely right.I just have heard about it but I have heard enough to know that the whole shock jock genre just isn't my thing.I have also heard that Howard is very intelligent and I can't deny that he has carved out a nice little niche for himself.
Just for the record guys,I am on your side.Just because I am not interested in what Howard says,doesn't mean that he shouldn't be able to say.It simply means that I am not interested in hearing it.I will absolutely defend his right to say whatever he wants.

And Rudey,I don't watch Jay Leno either.

Yup, he graduated magna cum laude from Boston University.

Sounds like those fundies in my hometown who didn't want us to read The Catcher in the Rye, but hadn't read it themselves...:rolleyes:

I prefer him to Jay Leno, and I've listened to his show and watched it on E! for quite some time. He's always been on the edge.

/hijack/
What branch of the active duty military was Stern in? I'm trying to imagine him with a crewcut! :eek:

/end hijack/

May I just say FUCK THAT BIG CHINNED FREAK. I still can't believe he got The Tonight Show and not Letterman. His interviewing skills are subpar and make him look like he's just kissing ass. Not to mention his opening monolougue ALWAYS gets little to no laughter, and he always gets sympathy applause. Letterman actually asks questions that people want to hear about, not just sensationalistic crap.

Leno has ruined the legacy of the Tonight Show. Hopefully Conan can save it, but by then it may be too late.

But you're right, Howard rules.

Howard has been biting the fuckchin in the ass all week. First the asshole steals material from other comedians. Then the asshole has the nerve to take Stuttering John and use him as his announcer. You big chinned freak.

-Rudey

I totally agree with all of this. I don't like Howard either - I think his show is boring and Robin's voice gets on my nerves - but if it's a choice of getting on his side or Clear Channel's, I'll cuddle up to Howard in 2.5 seconds.

If this was Casey Kasem in the same situation and he read a letter about someone getting unfairly fired from their job at CC, they would bag him from the stations and say that it was due to the "indecent" music on American Top 40. Lowery Mays is a little pussy who's settling a personal score and making it look like he's doing it for a higher purpose. I hope he falls in a big pile of poop.

If I remember right Clear Channel banned songs from their stations and airwaves after September 11th. Anything with fire, bomb, and so on. I am sorry hearing some funk "You dropped the bomb on me" or the Doors "come on baby light my fire" would have not made me think of terrorist attacks. CNN 24/7 was worse. Sadly they owned all the radio stations in Anchorage so we had options of NPR, and the College station.

Howard talked about how they talked to one of the people who wrote a complaint against him. The old man was on a fixed income and paid $0.50 for each complaint letter.

-Rudey

Actually, no. http://www.snopes.com/rumors/radio.htm

Not that Clear Channel isn't the devil, but I hate untrue urban legends even worse than I hate Clear Channel.

There was an article in the Anchorage Daily News, I will have to find it for you. Though I am cheap and will have to use the library since I won't pay for it through them. If I hadn't read it with my own eyes I wouldn't have mentioned it.

ETA: Here is the information without having to pay the article fee:

Search Results

Searched for: clear channel AND section(all) AND date(1/1/2001 to 12/31/2001) Returned: 10 displays of 40 matches


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Local DJs change their tunes



Author: Jeff St. John
Anchorage Daily News

Staff
Date: September 20, 2001
Publication: Anchorage Daily News (AK)
Page: B1


Word count: 694



You're not likely to hear songs like Talking Heads' ''Burning Down the House'' or the Gap Band's ''You Dropped the Bomb on Me'' on Anchorage radio stations any time soon. But you can expect to hear plenty of versions of ''The Star-Spangled Banner.''

In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, radio stations in Anchorage, and across the country have chosen not to play songs whose titles or lyrical content could [Read article (fee)]

You can find it at www.adn.com

Now Hold On...
 

It is CC choice to air whatever they want... They do not HAVE to air anything... If they choose to not air this guy, they do not have to. That is THEIR right of free speech...

Re: Now Hold On...
 

No it is not their right when they are one of the few companies with such a monopolistic hold.

In that situation the market can't function and they won't go out of business for "THEIR right of free speech."

-Rudey
--I'm on a roll with this arbitrage deal

The point is that CC did not outright BAN the songs - as in the stations would have been punished by CC headquarters if they aired them - simply made a list of songs they found questionable. I thought that was ghey (tm AXJules), but there's a diff between a ban & advising.

It IS CC's choice to air whatever they want, no one is questioning that (except for Rudey. :) Stern is still heard on the Infinity Broadcasting stations). I just don't believe that they are doing this because they are afraid of little children hearing Howard talk about three-ways. They care about money and publicity, not content.

Well, The Howard Stern Show is no more...at least for now. Clear Channel has cancelled his show according to Yahoo....

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...d=513&ncid=716

I'm going to see how this effects me. There is a very good chance now that I will be voting Democrat. Very few Democrats supported him either but this happened on the watch of a Republican.

I don't care about Iraq. I want the place bombed to the point of no return.

I don't care that much abotu how people are losing their IT jobs oversees because that doesn't affect me.

But damned am I when you take away what I wake up to in the mornings and say nothing. Has anyone heard the other idiots on the air like Mad Cow? What a bunch of horse crap. Nobody is funny like Howard.

And if this keeps up, my citizenship will be given away and I will live in Tijuana because they probably wouldn't care if they played Howard Stern.

-Rudey

So Howard Stern can now be added to the list of "problems" we have in America: people who love each other wanting to get married, and an overgrown frat-boy shooting off his mouth.

I'm glad to know that these are problems rather than all the homeless people and drug addicts.