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4xchampncountin
Guest
(Feb. 25) -- Bubba the Love Sponge was squeezed out of his job as host of a Tampa, Fla., radio talk show Tuesday by the station's owner, Clear Channel Communications Inc. He thus became the first notable casualty of a move to clean up the acts of the nation's shock jocks.
Bubba, whose real name is Todd Clem, has long been controversial. In January, the Federal Communications Commission proposed a $755,000 fine against Clear Channel for 26 alleged violations of indecency laws by Mr. Clem dating back to 2001.
It was the biggest indecency fine in history. After the FCC's proposed fine was announced, Mr. Clem assured his listeners that Clear Channel had promised "to work with me if I work with them."
The mutual labor apparently failed. Clear Channel, based in San Antonio, Texas, said it terminated its contract with the Bubba Radio Network following an internal investigation. Company officials said Mr. Clem was fired as part of a crackdown to keep indecent content off its more than 1,200 radio stations. The company immediately took his Web site down from the Internet.
Mr. Clem couldn't be reached to comment Tuesday.
Clear Channel is the latest media giant to buckle under pressure from federal legislators and regulators to halt indecency on the airwaves. To that end, Clear Channel and others have banded together via their trade organization, the National Association of Broadcasters, to draft a set of guidelines for dealing with potentially indecent material. That issue is likely to be discussed Thursday at a House hearing where senior executives from all of the major television networks as well as John Hogan, president of Clear Channel Radio, will testify.
For radio and television stations, the federal scrutiny of content comes at a competitively sensitive time. TV broadcasters increasingly are losing audience share to cable networks. They are also taking home most of the awards for shows such as HBO's "Sex and the City" and "The Sopranos" that could never be carried on public airwaves because of the sexually explicit and sometimes violent content.
Federal law prohibits broadcast-television networks and radio stations, which operate via licenses to public airwaves, from descriptive talk of sexual or excretory organs from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. when children are most likely to be watching or listening. The law currently doesn't apply to cable television or satellite radio. Both the House and the Senate have held hearings on the subject in the past two months, and some lawmakers are pushing legislation that would increase fines for indecent broadcasts tenfold. FCC Chairman Michael Powell earlier this month called on major TV broadcasters, and even unregulated cable channels, to voluntarily clean up their act.
Viacom Inc., which owns radio company Infinity Broadcasting Corp. and the CBS television network, and News Corp.'s Fox TV network have both issued edicts to the staff to err on the side of caution on matters of indecency. And they already appear to be having an effect. Tuesday, Infinity's shock jock Howard Stern told listeners on his widely syndicated radio show that the new FCC crackdown was making his job untenable and he planned to quit. Mr. Stern has made such threats before. He said he set up an appointment with Viacom President Mel Karmazin to discuss his resignation. A spokesman for Mr. Stern didn't return calls, and a Viacom spokesman declined to comment.
Industry executives contend the law is vague and not uniformly applied. The FCC gets involved only if someone files a complaint with the agency, so violators who aren't the target of complaints are essentially are off the hook. Mr. Karmazin recently told lawmakers that "the vagueness of the policy is exacerbated by FCC enforcement" and that broadcasters "need a road map."
For their part, radio stations have become increasingly reliant on their on-air talent to lure listeners. Younger audiences are burning compact discs with their favorite songs or downloading music off the Internet.
"It's a crowded spectrum, so you want a larger audience than everyone else and you want things that can't be duplicated" the way music can, says Gary Stevens, a radio-station broker in the New York area.
Emmis Communications Corp., which owns 27 stations nationwide, is among those who are stepping up indecency enforcement. The company next month is holding a Webcast to discuss the issue with station managers, program directors and its disc jockeys. Prior to that, company officials plan to issue a list of specifics for how to stay out of trouble.
"When it was the 'Seven Dirty Words,' we knew what they were and we didn't say them," says Rick Cummings, president of Emmis's radio division, referring to the forbidden words made famous by comedian George Carlin uttering them, which led to the Supreme Court's landmark 1978 indecency decision. "But now it's hard to know where the line is," he says.
For broadcasters, the situation could have a major financial impact. Though blue-chip advertisers often avoid appearing on edgy programs such as Howard Stern, these shows often bring in so many listeners that they lift the entire station's ratings, industry executives say. That allows the station to charge more for advertising.
Radio companies are already experiencing weak demand for local ads. That led Clear Channel to post relatively flat fourth-quarter results Tuesday, disappointing investors. Clear Channel said earnings totaled $187 million, or 30 cents a share, up from $184 million, or 30 cents, a year earlier. Analysts had expected 33 cents a share, according to Thomson First Call. Revenue rose 4% to $2.29 billion.
Bowing to the new era, Clear Channel is starting mandatory seminars for program managers and on-air talent about how to avoid getting in trouble. It's backing that up with financial disincentives to cross the line. For example, the company is modifying its contracts with radio talent to make them responsible for -- at a minimum -- paying half of any indecency fine. Mr. Clem had such a clause in his contract, though company officials declined to say if they will force the fired shock jock to pay up.
"You'd have to be comatose over the last weeks and months to not see what a powerful issue this is for American society," says Clear Channel Radio's Mr. Hogan. "We want the talent to have some skin in this and to make sure that as we take the responsibility for these licenses very seriously they share that."
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I am conflicted on this issue. As much as I wouldn't mind seeing Howard Stern finally quit, I hate censorship with a passion. Then again, these "shock jocks" are contributing to the moral decay in our society. Then again, if your kids are listening to this trash it is partly your fault.
Bubba, whose real name is Todd Clem, has long been controversial. In January, the Federal Communications Commission proposed a $755,000 fine against Clear Channel for 26 alleged violations of indecency laws by Mr. Clem dating back to 2001.
It was the biggest indecency fine in history. After the FCC's proposed fine was announced, Mr. Clem assured his listeners that Clear Channel had promised "to work with me if I work with them."
The mutual labor apparently failed. Clear Channel, based in San Antonio, Texas, said it terminated its contract with the Bubba Radio Network following an internal investigation. Company officials said Mr. Clem was fired as part of a crackdown to keep indecent content off its more than 1,200 radio stations. The company immediately took his Web site down from the Internet.
Mr. Clem couldn't be reached to comment Tuesday.
Clear Channel is the latest media giant to buckle under pressure from federal legislators and regulators to halt indecency on the airwaves. To that end, Clear Channel and others have banded together via their trade organization, the National Association of Broadcasters, to draft a set of guidelines for dealing with potentially indecent material. That issue is likely to be discussed Thursday at a House hearing where senior executives from all of the major television networks as well as John Hogan, president of Clear Channel Radio, will testify.
For radio and television stations, the federal scrutiny of content comes at a competitively sensitive time. TV broadcasters increasingly are losing audience share to cable networks. They are also taking home most of the awards for shows such as HBO's "Sex and the City" and "The Sopranos" that could never be carried on public airwaves because of the sexually explicit and sometimes violent content.
Federal law prohibits broadcast-television networks and radio stations, which operate via licenses to public airwaves, from descriptive talk of sexual or excretory organs from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. when children are most likely to be watching or listening. The law currently doesn't apply to cable television or satellite radio. Both the House and the Senate have held hearings on the subject in the past two months, and some lawmakers are pushing legislation that would increase fines for indecent broadcasts tenfold. FCC Chairman Michael Powell earlier this month called on major TV broadcasters, and even unregulated cable channels, to voluntarily clean up their act.
Viacom Inc., which owns radio company Infinity Broadcasting Corp. and the CBS television network, and News Corp.'s Fox TV network have both issued edicts to the staff to err on the side of caution on matters of indecency. And they already appear to be having an effect. Tuesday, Infinity's shock jock Howard Stern told listeners on his widely syndicated radio show that the new FCC crackdown was making his job untenable and he planned to quit. Mr. Stern has made such threats before. He said he set up an appointment with Viacom President Mel Karmazin to discuss his resignation. A spokesman for Mr. Stern didn't return calls, and a Viacom spokesman declined to comment.
Industry executives contend the law is vague and not uniformly applied. The FCC gets involved only if someone files a complaint with the agency, so violators who aren't the target of complaints are essentially are off the hook. Mr. Karmazin recently told lawmakers that "the vagueness of the policy is exacerbated by FCC enforcement" and that broadcasters "need a road map."
For their part, radio stations have become increasingly reliant on their on-air talent to lure listeners. Younger audiences are burning compact discs with their favorite songs or downloading music off the Internet.
"It's a crowded spectrum, so you want a larger audience than everyone else and you want things that can't be duplicated" the way music can, says Gary Stevens, a radio-station broker in the New York area.
Emmis Communications Corp., which owns 27 stations nationwide, is among those who are stepping up indecency enforcement. The company next month is holding a Webcast to discuss the issue with station managers, program directors and its disc jockeys. Prior to that, company officials plan to issue a list of specifics for how to stay out of trouble.
"When it was the 'Seven Dirty Words,' we knew what they were and we didn't say them," says Rick Cummings, president of Emmis's radio division, referring to the forbidden words made famous by comedian George Carlin uttering them, which led to the Supreme Court's landmark 1978 indecency decision. "But now it's hard to know where the line is," he says.
For broadcasters, the situation could have a major financial impact. Though blue-chip advertisers often avoid appearing on edgy programs such as Howard Stern, these shows often bring in so many listeners that they lift the entire station's ratings, industry executives say. That allows the station to charge more for advertising.
Radio companies are already experiencing weak demand for local ads. That led Clear Channel to post relatively flat fourth-quarter results Tuesday, disappointing investors. Clear Channel said earnings totaled $187 million, or 30 cents a share, up from $184 million, or 30 cents, a year earlier. Analysts had expected 33 cents a share, according to Thomson First Call. Revenue rose 4% to $2.29 billion.
Bowing to the new era, Clear Channel is starting mandatory seminars for program managers and on-air talent about how to avoid getting in trouble. It's backing that up with financial disincentives to cross the line. For example, the company is modifying its contracts with radio talent to make them responsible for -- at a minimum -- paying half of any indecency fine. Mr. Clem had such a clause in his contract, though company officials declined to say if they will force the fired shock jock to pay up.
"You'd have to be comatose over the last weeks and months to not see what a powerful issue this is for American society," says Clear Channel Radio's Mr. Hogan. "We want the talent to have some skin in this and to make sure that as we take the responsibility for these licenses very seriously they share that."
************************************************
I am conflicted on this issue. As much as I wouldn't mind seeing Howard Stern finally quit, I hate censorship with a passion. Then again, these "shock jocks" are contributing to the moral decay in our society. Then again, if your kids are listening to this trash it is partly your fault.
But I still say Clear Channel is doing the public a great service. 