cuda

It looks like a lot of people are blaming the government for HS getting pulled. It was a BUSINESS making a BUSINESS DECISION, it isn't like some jack booted thugs yanked him.


MR WONDERFUL FOR PRESIDENT IN 04!

CigDaze

This whole mess DID start with a hefty government fine...Without that, I would think both guys would still be on the air, this is a reactionary move from CC, not proactive.

This might be a good time for Infinity to step up to the plate and hit it big. After all, neither could be that bad when their followship is big enough for both to consistently score high in the ratings.

BK

Apparently, Congress has told Clear Channel that if they don't yank these kinds of shows, they could lose their license. Yesterday Congress discussed increasing fines 10 times higher than the current amount.




Some uneasy listening
Lawmakers say broadcasters talk of fighting obscenity while their lawyers fight FCC fines

BY JAMES TOEDTMAN
CHIEF ECONOMIC CORRESPONDENT

February 27, 2004

WASHINGTON - Howard Stern may be off the air in six cities and Bubba the Love Sponge fired altogether, but both were in the Capitol Hill spotlight yesterday as chastened broadcasters assured Congress that raunchy and indecent programs were rare and wouldn't be tolerated.

"The Bubbas of the world and the Howard Sterns of the world are the exception," Clear Channel Radio president John Hogan said a day after he pulled Stern's shock jock radio show off all six of Clear Channel's stations that carried him.

But the broadcasters' credibility was questioned when lawmakers tried to reconcile the public apologies with strident legal defenses against FCC investigators. "If you're saying one thing here, but your lawyers are saying something different, we don't know who to believe," Rep. Charles Pickering Jr. (R-Miss.) complained.

Hogan led a panel of broadcasters from ABC, NBC and Fox summoned before the House telecommunications subcommittee after CBS' Super Bowl halftime show, in which Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson's right breast. The incident prompted 250,000 public complaints and prompted Congress to consider raising the fine for obscene and indecent broadcasts from $27,500 to $275,000.

Hogan's apology was echoed by Alan Wurtzel, who heads NBC's media development and standards and practices group. NBC is fending off a potential FCC complaint for broadcasting rock singer Bono's obscene reference when he received a Golden Globe award last year. "NBC deeply regrets the entertainer Bono's spontaneous and unfortunate choice of an unacceptable word," Wurtzel said.

But Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) asked if Hogan's apology meant Clear Channel would not challenge a proposed $755,000 FCC fine for a series of sexually explicit broadcasts by a Clear Channel morning talk show host, Todd Clem, aka "Bubba the Love Sponge."

But Hogan said Clear Channel is keeping its legal options open. The deadline to pay the fine is Thursday, he said, and a decision hasn't been made.

Hogan asserted he was being consistent. "The stakes are very high," he said of the $755,000 fine and possible revocation of FCC licenses at the six Florida stations.

Broadcasters said they would attend an industry conference on obscenity. ABC president Allan Wallou said that Sunday's Oscar awards show would be audio and visually time-delayed for the first time in its 76-year history.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/ne...tics-headlines

NASTY HABIT

the high ratings alone set the community standard , even if the community is the nation or the locales where these shows are aired.

Gov. will never make the adjustments to standards needed as it will derail the agendas that have been in motion for so long.

It's all a bunch of crap...If any of these companies or personalities had any balls they would stand up and fight.

Pointerman

Let's be clear here. Freedom of speech has limitations.

D-Law,
Would you feel that I had a right to free speech if I stood outside your office yelling profanities, telling everyone that enters your building that you are a crook (I don't know you from Adam, so I am stating an example) and generally making everyone uncomfortable about entering your building? Is that covered under freedom of speech? No? Hmmm, there must be some reasonable limitations on this basic right then. Who gets to decide what is reasonable freedom of speech and what is inappropriate for a certain time or place? Gotta be someone.

Why can't you stand on the street corner naked? Everyone can just look the other way. It's not your problem, it's their issue. Sorry, but society has some basic standards of decency for public and Howard is on public airwaves. You may not like those standards, but quite frankly I think society has gone a little too far in the "what ever is good for you is cool with me" direction.

Phknlwyr

Brett, if I may...

Standing ouside Brett's office, teeling evey passerby that he is a crook is protected speech, to the extent that it is true. If it is not true, then hello slander lawsuit. In addition, you may have to get a permit to protest there if it is on public property (reasonable measures for time, place, and manner may be imposed on free speech), and you may get hrown out on your ass if Brett's building is private property. I saw a 60+ y.o old guy standing on a corner on a busy thoroughfare last week, holding a sign that read" Babies Murdered Here." Not that it was visible from the street, but the driveway where he was standing lead to a women's clinic. So yes, you can stand there and make your point, to a point.

As for who gets to decide what is reasonable, the law provides that the community decides what is reasonable. The standard is a mushy as Stecz20's ass. What may not be offensive in New York City, may offend everyone in Bumphuk, Ark. The law has been interpretted by various decisions on free speech to accomodate different people in different places. There are members of this Board that know these standards all too well. In fact, they may be closer to you than you think, perhaps even right next to you.

dhlaw

Thankyou!! Saves me from ranting on about prior restraint, compelling governmental interests and adverse secondary effects...........

dhlaw

PHkn,
I think that we should open the first performance boat oriented law firm. Have you considered advertising on OSO??

stecz20

d hlaw, first kevin must get a boat, then get rid of the minivan...i told you i could crack wall nuts in my ass, so is your statement considered slander. if so id like to hire you, to sue you....

dhlaw

Have you actually cracked a walnut in your ass??