After Being Yanked by Clear Channel, Howard Stern Predicts His Broadcast Demise

AP ^ | Mar. 6, 2004

[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

[AlexW]

"The government? No way!"

Well, who else keeps you from driving in the left lane?
Who else can say that a Larry Flint billboard of an open crotch can not be on a "PUBLIC" road?
Who else tells you that you can not pee in the street?
Who else tells you that you can not fly a plane wherever you want?
Who else tells you that you can not jamb every radio signal with a megawatt transmitter, just so you can have your precious free expression?

Get real!

[FreeReign]

Oh c'mon. Are you seriously trying to make the argument that the invisible airwaves are violating your private property? They are only visible when you choose them to be.

Hey you "c'mon" you drama queen! What I choose to do with the airwaves on my private property is none of your business.

Your argument says that the majority of the country can't use the airwaves that pass through their private property so that a small minority of people may pass porn through it.

Your argument doesn't stand up without the obligatory -- "c'mon".

[FreeReign]

...as long as there is also a way for someone to "tune out" your exhaust fumes you have a valid case.

He could end his picnic. How would that be?

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

Why not put parent controls on your T.V. so you won't be "forced" to watch it when you flip the channels? Why do you need big brother to do it for you?

TURN THE STATION

If Howard Stearn’s free speech rights can extend into my house, then I suppose he should be able to place lurid advertisements on billboards. Just tell yourself and your kids to look the other way.

What really sucks is the huge amount of time free speech purists think I should devote to watching television to determine what crappy programs are acceptable or not for my children. I see nothing wrong with making people who want to watch crap go out to the video store and spend their time and money to exercise their free speech rights. I want my privacy. I want limits on crap that enters my house. We all know what sexual crap is. It’s not confusing to those who don’t want it.

[Salo]

What private medium would that be? Care to guess how XM radio gets into cars? Yep - invisible radio waves (the direct-feed cable hooked to satellites was considered "impractical"). Pay per view porn? Invisable radio waves again - again, the direct-feed cable was just too difficult to manage - especially around airports. Care to guess who regulates those "private" radio waves? Yep, it's the FCC. Unless you have a tin-foil fence, it's very likely those pornographic airwaves are on your property right now.

It isn't my responsibility to shield myself from the pornographic air you broadcast accross my private property.

[TASMANIANRED]

The government has not done diddly squat to Howard Stern.
Clear Channel was given a huge fine over another of their shock Jocks that apparantly was even more over the top and innappropriate than Howard. Clear Channel made a business decision that they were finally going to establish some standards for what was appropriate radio .

They pay the piper, they get to call the tune. Howard decided to stick it in their eye . The show they canned him over was intentionally designed to flip them the bird, tell them to shove it and to kiss his liberal white behind. Clear Channel didn't back down.

This was a business decision by a private company, the government didn't do anything other than to call a bunch of different but allied business executives on the carpet for
an explanation of their filth peddling.

[imfleck]

Yours is perhaps the dumbest posting I have ever seen.

Driving in the left lane, peeing in the street, flying a plane wherever I want, and intentionally jamming radio stations? What in the world does that have to do with the government being a moral compass? You might have a point with the Larry Flynt thing but that's only because it's being FORCED upon me. The Howard Stern Show isn't. I can turn off a radio station.

Have you been reading ANY of the previous postings?

[imfleck]

I really could care less what you do with those airwaves. I get a little angry when you tell me what I can do with them.

I think you need to read up a little bit on the "public" airwaves and their use.

[imfleck]

First you would have to provide him an entire spectrum of different smelling airwaves before that works. He may choose some he likes, and he'll probably choose many he doesn't.

As long as he can filter out the ones he doesn't, to include the choice of none at all, then you make sense.

[Salo]

Yet.

The government has not done diddly squat to Howard Stern.

[NYCVirago]

If his sponsors decide that he doesn't reflect their corporate views, they should stop paying him, and then he'd go away.

Isn't that exactly what Clear Channel has done here?

[The Westerner]

Ah, you misunderstood me. I don't follow Howard's advice on politics. To me, he is a representive of the old fashioned blue collar mentality. Sometimes he is startling good on politics and sometimes miserable.

The reason I have had it with the present spineless and statist-leaning Republican Party is that there isn't one voice protesting the Campaign Finance Reform smack at free speech. And there won't be one principled voice protesting Bush and Michael Powell's use of government coercion to control free speech on the airwaves. And no, I don't agree with the statist idea that the airwaves are public property anymore than I agree with the statist idea that business requires regulation to protect "the people, the folk, the children," etc. etc.

[imfleck]

The billboard scenario doesn't work because I'm not being given a choice to pick between any one of 100 billboards, including those that I know will or will not offend me. Tuning to a radio station is an intentional act. Having a billboard foisted upon me is not.

Here's the truly funny thing: The government has already told us what is and isn't "good" for us on TV. It's those little "G", "PG", "MA" etc, ratings tags on every show. You really don't need to spend any time at all looking at programs that you know will offend you.

You can limit what "crap" enters your house by just using the guidelines that the government has already provided to you. You can have your privacy too, nobody, other than sponsors, cares what you're watching.

So, I suppose that the "public airwaves" are only "public"
to those who don't want to watch/listen to The Howard Stern Show or it's like.

[imfleck]

Yep, and I whole heartedly support Clear Channel. If that's the stance that Clear Channel wants to take, then it need only answer to their share holders.

[Austin Willard Wright]

Oh perish the thought that might actually to have to bother to monitor the viewing habits of your children when big brother can do it for you. Apparently, conservatives have embraced a Brave New World of government paternalism.

[oceanview]

the marketplace? what you would likely have is every network jumping in with similar programming for the ratings.

[The Westerner]

Thus voter apathy. Democans, Republicrats as Michael Savage name them.

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

...Apparently, conservatives have embraced a Brave New World of government paternalism.

?

Conservatives have always embraced a paternalistic paternal code. I give you Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

You are confused between censorship and privacy. I don't care if Howard Stern and his followers, homosexuals, and other sexual hedonists go practice their beliefs so long as they don't make me spend time keeping them out of my house.

I suppose you are content that a man wearing only a black tape across his private parts walking down the street is in the right to freely express himself. All you have to do is make your children look the other way, if you can make them. If you see the same on TV, just change the station. Nice use of your time constantly steering your children through a growing barrage of shock jocks, in your own house no less.

Why can't the perverts go down to the red light district with their own kind practicing their perverse habits privately as they did in the old days leaving the rest of us alone to our own privacy? Why do exhibitionists need a right to be in our homes.

[F16Fighter]

"I have a problem with parents who are too lazy to put parent controls on their T.V. sets and then try to deprive adults of liberty because of their laziness."

"Liberty"?? That what you call it?

You ARE aware that this country does have obscenity laws and decency standards, right?

[F16Fighter]

" Either speak your mind, or shut the hell up."

I just spoke my mind, ass-h*le.