Posted on 03/06/2004 11:25:54 AM PST by nuconvert
After Being Yanked by Clear Channel, Howard Stern Predicts His Broadcast Demise
Mar 6, 2004
The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) - 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
But I doubt MTV-1 & MTV-2 and the rest of the sludge-channels would be able to support themselves on the allowances of pre-teens, teens and job-less 20'somethings.
Most importantly, I don't want a SINGLE cent of my money going into the hands of these liberal scum-profiteers. Let them polute the livingrooms and homes of their own families, not mine.
And yes, I know where the off button is on my TV ... but for the countless American parents with children waiting at home until Mom or Dad get off work, the 'Delete' function doesn't always work as designed.
The future of America deserves better.
I censor for myself what I want to see and hear, I don't need to have someone do it for me under the power of government. Its quite easy to avoid what I don't want to see. I really don't care what you see though, its your life.
Make it so, Number One.
Finally, we have a first amendment which starts:
Congress shall make no law...." What part of "no law" don't you understand? You can put your trust in the politicians who pass unconstitutional laws. I, on the other hand, trust the Constitution itself.
You're preaching to the choir regarding our new welfare state and the 2nd Amendment -- however even those require respective common sense support and restriction.
Would you support unfettered gun laws that enable convicted murderers, felons, and violent offenders access??
Btw, is "so" supposed to qualify as your answer to the question: "You ARE aware that this country does have obscenity laws and decency standards, right?"
If his sponsors decide that he doesn't reflect their corporate views, they should stop paying him, and then he'd go away.
Duh! That's exactly what happened. The market is deciding. Where do you think that $20M a year comes from - pimply-faced, arrested-development 20 year olds like you?
Sorry, it comes from people who have their retirement savings invested in Clear Channel stock - you know, those dreary, responsible married folks with young children who are finally putting their foot down on how their money is spent.
As I said, Stern is perfectly happy risking someone else's hard-earned savings, just like Dems who are very generous with other people's money.
Sorry if I don't believe your inability to listen to Howard Stern over the public airwaves creates a Constitutional crisis.
You unfortunately suffer from the delusion that the history of this country started on the day you were born, a mere 20+ years ago. There have been decency standards in place since the inception of radio and television that have just recently started to disintegrate at an alarming rate. You would be hard pressed to point to any instance where censoring obscenity on the airwaves has been an impediment to anyone's true free speech rights as the framer's intended.
My suggestion to you is to get yourself a copy of the Constitution and perhaps the Federalist Papers and do a little research on the First Amendment.
I realize as a young person in this day and age you're used to stomping your feet and putting on a tantrum to get what you want, just because YOU want it. But that's not the way things work in a Constitutional society.
My four year old granddaughter writes better English that you do.
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