POLITICS: Howard Stern Going Off-Air Because of Comments About Bush?

Originally posted by Facefirst
Outsider,

There was one more incident that you failed to mention. A caller on Stern's show made an ethnic slur while Stern was interviewing Rick Solomon.(of Paris Hilton fame)

That was what brought Clearchannel and the FCC down on him. Even though I am sure that the boob incident at the superbowl was what started the snowball effect.

While that may have happened, I think you are kind of missing the point. Those incidents are the publically displayed reasons as to why Clearchannel did this. However, this could have also been used to cover up real reasons, as said earlier, that it could be because of the bush trash talk etc. Howard has a huge fanbase, and tons of listeners. In every show of his, I'm sure somebody becomes offended, and why now? Maybe because of the Janet stuff, maybe not. I enjoy Howards E! show, and I must agree that Howard thrives on controversy. This could just be yet another one of those controversy's.

I have always maintained that if Clearchannel and the FCC cared about us that much, they would have taken Stern off 10 years ago. There has to be some pressure from somewhere, because Stern's ratings are over the top and there is a lot of money to be lost with him going off the air.

That being said, I am more offended by the Govt thinking that they have to "protect" us from this kind of thing. We are all big kids and can turn off the radio when we don't like something?

It sounds more like money talks and BS walks, at least to me....

[Edited on 5-3-2004 by Facefirst]

Originally posted by Facefirst
Outsider,

There was one more incident that you failed to mention. A caller on Stern's show made an ethnic slur while Stern was interviewing Rick Solomon.(of Paris Hilton fame)

That was what brought Clearchannel and the FCC down on him. Even though I am sure that the boob incident at the superbowl was what started the snowball effect.

Not true... anyone who listens to Stern's show regularly knows that the "n word" is used frequently under certain contexts.

Also, those who listen to Stern's show regularly may have noticed a DISTINCT turn in his political views, or at least his views on Bush, over the last 3 or 4 months. Before now, Stern has actually been quite conservative in his political views, despite being "raunchy" and a "shock-jock" (hubbla hubbla). The gay marriage issue was one thing that got Stern going a couple months ago, and it has snowballed since then. Bush's decision to duck into the National Guard during Vietnam was another issue that got Stern to rethink his old praises of the president.

Regardless of what you think of Stern, he has been harder and more critical on Bush than anyone else that I have heard or seen on a public frequency. Yes, yes, other people may have more "intelligent" approaches, but do they have the influence? No way in hell.

Stern has the ability to influence the 2004 general election. He was pleading people to vote against Bush today. He will continue to do so.

He will not be on the air in November 2004.

But I'm sure he deserves it because he has a "potty mouth".....

Phaedrusxxx,

I completely understand what you are saying.

I was just pointing out the "official" excuse give for the harsh criticism against Stern. I listen to his show off and on and I have noticed a huge turn in his views. He used to be one of the most vocal pro-Bush/war supporters in all the media. His sudden lack of favor with the FCC coming not long after his change of political heart has definitely raised some eyebrows.

He definitely has influence and that appears not to sit "right" with certain people.

~Face

stern has been vulgar for years and much more so in years past. is it just a coincidence that this happened in this climate??? i think it shows the true attitude of the current govt......................

It's ironic that Stern has never been above using such tactics himself, getting program managers to suspend airplay for bands that won't appear on his show ie) the GooGoo Dolls (ya big deal i know) Or using his wack pack jihadists to harass his enemies until they repent and come to him with their tail between their legs ie) Bon Jovi. Stern's hubris is the cause here.

I believe that XM Radio was the main reason behind Howard going off the air.. XM is based in D.C and i think some one in politics has a an interst in seeing XM TAKING OFF XM is satellite radio service that can tell where we are and what we listen to..Big Brother Looking After The FLOCK.....

[Edited on 6-3-2004 by AntiSocial]

[Edited on 6-3-2004 by AntiSocial]

This is totally off topic, but something I was thinking about.

XM's motto is "XM, radio to the power of X"

What does that mean? Considering X can stand for any number, it stands to reason that it could stand for any number starting at 0 and going to infinity in both the positive and negative direction.

What they are saying is, is that you have a 50/50 chance of it being good.

Sorry, I overthink things sometimes.

This is ridiculous. This is pure censorship.

News from CNN.com:

"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-and-one-half 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, New York, Louisville, Kentucky, and Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida on February 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.

sucks

Originally posted by Bob88

Milk: I don't think Clear Channel banned the Dixie Chicks, rather there was an outcry from the listening audience, listeners didn't want to here the Dixie Chicks, so it was in the stations' best interest not to play them, obviously.

You are correct. They were not banned, and the people did ask to not have them played, but they remained on the playlist. I remember driving one day though, and hearing on a Clearchannel station, someone calling to request a Dixie Chicks song (Landslide I bleive), and the host said "We have been asked by our parent company, Clearchanel, not to play them for the remainder of the week." I dont know how much truth is behind that, or that the DJ didnt do that just because he didnt want to play the Dixie Chicks, but it is what I remember.

If they did or not, there are many instances where anti-government, and anti-Bush in particular, people were fired from Clearchanel stations. Nobody will ever know that they were fired for those reasons, just as we may never know about Stern, but it seems that more often than not, the people fired had just recently become opposed to Bush, and had something else to be nailed for. I believe that Stern was canned because of his recently changed plitical views. Look at who the head of the FCC is. I believe it is Colin Powels son, no? Coincidence, maybe, and I hope so. Regardless of who the president is, and like it or not, I think this is an infringement on our rights to free speach. If I dont want to listen to something, I can change the chanel. That is the big issue here I believe. I like Bush, I dont like Stern a whole lot, but it seems fishy. I hope that Bush (or his administration for that matter) had nothing to do with it, but it does not look that way.

This stuff is silly...

Adult shows (radio or TV) that include graphic language and adult subjects have the right to be aired. And that time should be after 10pm local time. Unless it is pay per view (or listen), I think these shows should be stuck where during the day I don't have to be bombarded with high school humor.


Our society sends so many mixed messages of don't have sex and don't treat others as lesser beings, and then bam! I turn the radio on in the morning and hear someone ripping on lesbians, asians, whites, and how they are going to get drunk and find the nearest teenage girl...you think that kid going to school doesn't hear those same things and then adapt that to his personality so he can be cool??


Hey I love watching Stern once in a while too, but man...some people get brainwashed by this guy's cult of personality.

Originally posted by Boogie
This stuff is silly...

Adult shows (radio or TV) that include graphic language and adult subjects have the right to be aired. And that time should be after 10pm local time.

No. Stern may be an idiot when it comes to certain topics. However, that does not mean that he need to be censored or sent to a time slot in which nobody will hear him. Honestly... Howard Stern says what the majority of people think (take that with a grain of salt, I could be wrong, but look at his numbers) .... he is often wrong and completely insensitive, but that is ok. There is no law saying you can't be a total asshole who doesn't think about what you are saying as long as you are number #1 in markets X and Y. It has nothing to do with what he is saying, just in how he is selling... and that's OK, according to capitalism.

But when you start to censor him for being "too edgy" or "too political" all of a sudden, it starts to look REALLY shady.

I mean, I have been listening to Stern forever. I'm not the oldest fan, but I have tuned him in during early morning work hours since '97. He bitches and moans about stupid fines, yes. But if he gets taken off the air, we have a serious problem. People may say that this is just another gag for ratings.... no way.

The Howard Stern audience does not hang in when he does political commentary. It is murder for his show. I don't think the average Stern fan got what he/she expected during the last few mornings. Stern talked about Bush and his own changing political views during this weeks. Boobs and playboy auditions were put on hold until he got his say.

I am not a Howard Stern myopian. But, I know a few. Did anyone notice that Stern was cut in swing states? He had the ability to swing voters. People will vote according to what Stern says, agree with it or not. I don't care what he says, because I think he is a bit of an idiot, but I also think he is pretty funny, so I listen.

I'm just saying, don't underestimate him. He is gospel to many. Accordingly, it is really scary that he is taking this kind of pressure lately. I didn't like what he was saying directly post 9-11 or while U.S. was invading Iraq, but he shouldn't be taken off the air for it. His style hasn't changed ONE BIT and now he is in serious trouble now that he changed his tune.....

Like it or not, Stern has power. He is going to get shut down by the FCC very soon. No court, no trial. That's F'ed up.

Nobody will hear him at 10pm? Doesn't "E" put him on like around 11pm...still hasn't been cancelled. Yes he would lose listeners, but I sacrifice his show for the good of my society... Art Bell has worked wonders with the late night radio crowd.


Well I don't want censorship either. If Stern wants to spill his political views then he can write a book or get on after 10pm. I think Rush Limbaugh is a fool at times too and wish he wasn't even on. I'd even like it best if the whole radio political talk show dried up like Ricki Lake. I hear so many twisted lies on these shows with bits of truth, yet when you complain about them they fall back on their occasional truths to say they are an important outlet.


We have rated R movies so that immature people can't see "adult themes", yet we allow R rated radio that can be broadcast anywhere in the morning??? I don't want to be like parts of Europe where anything goes anytime...I prefer some borders of morality, not censorship, but I shouldn't have to be accousted by Jehovah Witnesses at my door, porn on my TV, telemarketers on my phone, spam on my computer, or R-X rated radio on my morning drive. Then someone says "turn the channel"...well we're getting to the point where we don't have anywhere to turn. So I have now given up my freedoms so that another guy has the freedom to do what he wants when he wants to. As they say: there's a time and place for everything.


I don't trust Bush, I don't trust Stern. Both are working for themselves...not for me. Stern should not be censored...but he shouldn't be on in the morning.

Ya know what. I'm tired of these right wing religious whackos telling me how to think, what I should listen to, and what I should watch! Howard Stern is the last straw.

I grew up listening to him when I was a kid. Now, I listen to him off and on---a few months at a time here and there. I made the decision to turn him off when I got tired but it was ALWAYS comforting to know he was there when I wanted to listen.

NOW, I GOT SOME RELIGIOUS JESUS FREAK WHACKO TELLING ME THAT I CAN'T LISTEN BECAUSE HE HAS A POTTY MOUTH! I'm a friggin adult and I can do what I damn please. I don't need a moron Jesus freak, a repugnant, the religious right, or a repugnant politician telling me what I should listen to!

Stern is my man! They can all go to Hell!


[Edited on 12-3-2004 by Colonel]

What he said, I do agree I also have heard Howard for along time. He has been off the hook for along time. Funny, now lets take him off. When he turmed on Bush, Bush turned on him.

LET US BE FREE!!!!

Then, they got this crap about "Its for the children. We need to protect the children!" From what? Hell, sometimes WE need protection FROM our children!

And whgat's more damaging to the child's psyche? A Howard Stern breast joke or that vile, bloody, and pornographic scourging in the Passion of Christ that these Jesus freaks are taking their kid to see????

These repugnants always glorify the worst violence over natural sex anyday. That's why they're sick.

[Edited on 12-3-2004 by Colonel]

Originally posted by Colonel
Then, they got this crap about "Its for the children. We need to protect the children!" From what? Hell, sometimes WE need protection FROM our children!

And whgat's more damaging to the child's psyche? A Howard Stern breast joke or that vile and bloody scourging in the Passion of Christ????

These repugnants always glorify the worst violence over natural sex anyday. That's why their sick.

Frankly most parents, arent the best parents anyway.
People should have to take a test like the test to drive, to have kids.

When you were kids, did you ever walk in on your parents having sex? I did? Im not all fed up, well..... Anyway, you get my point.

I understand but you KNOW these Jesus freaks are undercover sex perverts. They repress all natural forms of human sex as bad and evil---even juvenile potty humor like Stern.

ALL that repression needs an outlet somewhere and its called disgusting perversion---just look at the Church!

I just so tired of these looney tunes trying to impose their beliefs upon me.