Shock Jocks Opie & Anthony Fired After St. Pat's Sex Stunt on Radio in NYC!!!

MSNBC ^ | 23 August 2002 | MSNBC

[AmericanInTokyo]

[EXCERPTS]

Shock Jocks Fired After St. Pat's Sex Stunt

NEW YORK, 11:03 a.m. EDT August 23, 2002 -

Opie and Anthony are over and out.

The New York-based shock jocks, under fire from angry Catholic groups for broadcasting a live account of a couple allegedly having sex in St. Patrick's Cathedral, had their nationally syndicated show canceled Thursday.

"Based on recent events, the Opie and Anthony Show has been canceled, and will be replaced by other programming beginning Friday," Waced by programming to be determined separately by each station. He didn't know what WNEW would air in its time slot, and the station referred all inquiries to McClintock.

The pair had been pulled off the airwaves on Monday, three days after the sexual stunt was aired.

.....The FCC had been flooded with hundreds of complaints about the show.......

The decision to sack the shock jocks and their highly rated afternoon drive-time show was hailed by William Donohue, head of the 350,000-member Catholic League.......

......Donohue said his group would back off its call for the FCC to pull WNEW's broadcast license and fine Infinity.

"It's over," he said. "I'm satisfied."

FCC spokesman David Fiske said Friday that its investigation of the incident would continue.

"The fact that they've made a management decision with a station doesn't affect the conduct of the investigation," Fiske said.

....... Charges of acting in concert were still pending against Opie and Anthony producer Paul Mercurio, 42, who provided a running account of the encounter via cell phone.

The Opie and Anthony show was nationally syndicated in 17 markets outside New York City, including Cleveland, Dallas, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Washington, D.C.

It was the second firing in four years for Greg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia. The pair was canned in 1998 by a Massachusetts station after announcing on April Fool's Day that Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino was killed in a car crash.

[Aquinasfan]

William Donahue had been greatly reduced in my estimation since he has pronounced himself "satisfied" with the "outcome" in the firing of these two.

I'm surprised. It's out of character. I hope he can be persuaded to change his mind if this really is his position. I'm going to cut him some slack because he has done yeoman work in the culture wars so far.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Freep! Freep! Freep! Boycotts. License Revocation for WNEW if necessary. The whole works. I'll be darned if this whole thing was not criminal conspiracy from the start.

[bribriagain]

DATELINE FRIDAY: PMSNBC today announced that radio shockmeisters Opie and Anthony would be hosting the 8 o'clock line-up to replace the ratings challenged Donohue Show...breaking.

[AmericanInTokyo]

I hadn't realized it (plural) had been there for the funeral at St. Patrick's.

As I mentioned, the American people were very humbled, spiritual and united against evil including this type of American scum and social decay right after 9-11. They earlier would have 'let it slide' pre-9-11. The secular and sacreligious WNEW/shock jock/beer promotion schemers could NEVER have pulled this off at the same time that scores of funerals for firemen and other terrorist victims were taking place at St. Pat's.

They had to wait a few more months, into the late summer perhaps, until the cultural vigilence of Americans had died down -- or so they had thought -- where they could openly desecrate a popular house of worship in NYC. I am glad a lot of folks have risen up and told them NO!

THIS WILL NOT STAND!!

[PBRSTREETGANG]

Boycott Sam Adams.

Jim Koch, owner of Sam Adams, has sponsored three of these events and has not yet felt the heat that he should. I sent him an e-mail earlier today.

response@samadams.com

You can also reach them by phone at 1-800-372-1131 or write to them at:

The Boston Beer Company
75 Arlington Street
Boston, MA 02116

"We look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers!"

-The Boston Beer Company

[AmericanInTokyo]

Your great post of #37 convinced me.

Very well written.

In fact, yes, the station license must, by all efforts now, be suspended by FCC action. This is the next level of Freep. You are right, the pain must be heightened and the lesson drilled into the numbskulls. I see criminal culpability on the part of Sam Adams Brewery, too.

Any freepers know somebody in the DA's office in NYC? Or in Boston where the corporate headquarters are?

[AmericanInTokyo]

Most assuredly their retained or in'house legal advisory team has told them not to dare apologize publicly about ANYTHING!!

Let's smoke 'em out. Eagles up!

[Hammerhead]

Thank God. No talent hacks.

I like Stern, I like Don and Mike but these dorks have ALWAYS been a bore.

[Paleo Conservative]

It's being predicted they'll be rehired somewhere. And if no radio station hires them, there's always cable.

I doubt it. WNEW almost lost is broadcast license (to print money). Any radio or TV station that hires them is at serious risk of losing its license.

[OldPossum]

Re your post #37, you are absolutely correct, nice summary of what didn't go right.

[MinuteGal]

I just freeped Mr. Kocky but good in an email. I was grateful for the instant link. I hope all readers here do the same. It takes but a moment and you feel sooooo good when you click and send the message flying through the ether to this creep.

I hope that freepers who live in this station's broadcast zone will keep an eye on where the two shock jocks roost if someone is arrogant enough to hire them. Keep us informed. Rest assured, we freepers will be on their case wherever we have to track them.

Can you imagine these jerks broadcasting that a mayor had just been killed in an accident? Can we imagine what family and friends went through? What amoral bastartes this pair is!

Leni

[buccaneer81]

Hey Tony, they were on here in Columbus. On WAZU, 107.1 at 4:00 PM. At least as recently as this past winter. I'm not sure if they were still on lately, but I used to listen to them occasionally on the way home from work. A couple of Stern wanna-bes.

[Ronaldus Magnus]

Two down, two to go:

X Opie

X Anthony

O WNEW

O Jim Koch

[lasereye]

Any radio or TV station that hires them is at serious risk of losing its license.

That's why they could go to cable. Cable doesn't use the public airwaves. They don't need a license. That's why all the X rated stuff is on cable.

[Question_Assumptions]

According to a link in the "Smoking Gun" article, they were giving out quite a few points for FAO Schwartz. For those who don't catch the significance of that, its a famous toy store. That means that in a previous contest, they encouraged people to have sex in a toy store. I suppose they could give even more points for an elementary school cafeteria filled with first graders, right?

[alisasny]

It was an open constest with points for locations and who. This one got a rise cause they were caught. Hard to believe what we missed, but you and I never would have known. I am willing to give up this type of freedom of speech....

Just so you know, and I only found this after the news story...if the partner got an on duty cop to do their partner the points were larger than the St. Pats locale.

BOTTOM LINE dont listen to the freaks...and if you know someone who does berate them... : ))

I find some of the democratic reps more caustic then opie and anthony......at least the later is making no policy....

[DAnconia55]

Maybe pay-per-view, where all the other slimy sex-trash programming appears?

LOL... sigh.

Speaking of knuckledraggers....