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Clear Channel Suspends Stern
Aired February 26, 2004 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Up first this hour, stifling Stern. A shot across the bow of rude radio, perhaps? The nation's largest radio conglomerate, Clear Channel. has yanked the king of shock jocks from half a dozen stations that carried his syndicated program.
The day before, Clear Channel laid out a zero tolerance policy for alleged indecent programming as reportedly has Infinity Broadcasting, Howard Stern's employer and syndicator.
CNN's G-rated financial correspondent Greg Clarkin is tuned in to the static. Greg, what's the word?
GREG CLARKIN, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT: Thank you very much, Miles. Well, you know it's been more than three week since Janet Jackson's breast was deemed as offensive. And in that time America's broadcasters had been the defensive, scurrying around try trying to please an outraged Congress and regulators.
Now Clear Channel was one of those big broadcasters. They've been opening corporate closets and tossing out anything deemed to be offensive. Clear Channel is the nation's biggest owner of radio stations. They have been on a cleaning binge, if you will. And it's not even spring.
Late yesterday, Clear Channel suspending and -- suspending Howard Stern from the six radio stations it owns that carries his popular radio show. Now that move came a day after Clear Channel issued those new guidelines for decency on its air waves. That was considered a line in the sand, if you will. A line the company says Stern blew right through in a recent broadcast.
Now it has been a busy week indeed for Clear Channel. It issued new decency guidelines, it suspends Stern. And a little bit earlier this week, it outright fired another radio personality known as Bubba the Love Sponge.
And if you think all this has anything to do with what's going on in Washington, well you are right. Underway this morning has been a subcommittee hearing in the House on indecency and broadcasting. Guess who's been testifying? Among those is John Hogan. He's the CEO of Clear Channel.
And he began by saying he was basically sorry for his stations carrying Stern.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN HOGAN, CEO, CLEAR CHANNEL: So let me start my testimony today with an apology. To our listeners, to the public in general, and to you in this room, we were wrong to air that material. And I accept full responsibility for our mistake.
And while we cannot take back those words that were aired on our radio stations, we are taking steps to ensure that it will not happen again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLARKIN: Now as for Stern, here's what he had to say on this morning's radio broadcast.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
HOWARD STERN, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Right after the Super Bowl, I have told you all along, the one thing I'm good at in life is predicting...
ROBIN QUIVERS, RADIO TALK SHOW CO-HOST: Well, once again, you know, it's that saturation of the air waves with Howard Stern clones. It's part of the problem. Because they have been the ones getting in trouble for last several years.
STERN: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLARKIN: Now, in speaking with broadcast executives this morning they say all these moves by Clear Channel obviously an effort to achieve their image on the eve of this Capitol Hill hearing. They are skeptical as to how long this will last. They say the Super Bowl fiasco with Janet Jackson obviously gave lawmakers and regulators a lot of ammunition to use in their efforts to clean up the airwaves.
But a lot of folks believe it is a politically-charged year, obviously an election year. And they wonder how long interest in this topic will remain past November -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Interesting point, Greg Clarkin. As we just heard from the broadcast this morning, Robin Quivers exchanging with Howard Stern there, there are an awful lot of imitators out there. The whole shock jockery, if you will, has got to be a little bit worried about what's going on here.
CLARKIN: You know, Miles, it's an interesting point because one of the legislators brought up this morning in a question to Hogan saying, Listen, this is Howard Stern's reputation. You knew what you were getting when you carried this show. What changed here?
Hogan answered that by saying, Well, Stern hasn't changed, but we've changed in how they view what they want to put on the air.
And again we should stress that Stern was only suspended. The show is not being done away with. A lot of folks believe maybe that keeps the door open for him possibly returning to those stations at some point in the future.
O'BRIEN: All right, Greg Clarkin in New York. And a special tip of the hat to WXRK for their help in getting us that Howard Stern soundbite that you just saw. We appreciate it. We'll debate this top story and hear from a Clear Channel shock jock, another one of those Stern imitators perhaps, a little later on LIVE FROM...
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 26, 2004 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Up first this hour, stifling Stern. A shot across the bow of rude radio, perhaps? The nation's largest radio conglomerate, Clear Channel. has yanked the king of shock jocks from half a dozen stations that carried his syndicated program.
The day before, Clear Channel laid out a zero tolerance policy for alleged indecent programming as reportedly has Infinity Broadcasting, Howard Stern's employer and syndicator.
CNN's G-rated financial correspondent Greg Clarkin is tuned in to the static. Greg, what's the word?
GREG CLARKIN, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT: Thank you very much, Miles. Well, you know it's been more than three week since Janet Jackson's breast was deemed as offensive. And in that time America's broadcasters had been the defensive, scurrying around try trying to please an outraged Congress and regulators.
Now Clear Channel was one of those big broadcasters. They've been opening corporate closets and tossing out anything deemed to be offensive. Clear Channel is the nation's biggest owner of radio stations. They have been on a cleaning binge, if you will. And it's not even spring.
Late yesterday, Clear Channel suspending and -- suspending Howard Stern from the six radio stations it owns that carries his popular radio show. Now that move came a day after Clear Channel issued those new guidelines for decency on its air waves. That was considered a line in the sand, if you will. A line the company says Stern blew right through in a recent broadcast.
Now it has been a busy week indeed for Clear Channel. It issued new decency guidelines, it suspends Stern. And a little bit earlier this week, it outright fired another radio personality known as Bubba the Love Sponge.
And if you think all this has anything to do with what's going on in Washington, well you are right. Underway this morning has been a subcommittee hearing in the House on indecency and broadcasting. Guess who's been testifying? Among those is John Hogan. He's the CEO of Clear Channel.
And he began by saying he was basically sorry for his stations carrying Stern.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN HOGAN, CEO, CLEAR CHANNEL: So let me start my testimony today with an apology. To our listeners, to the public in general, and to you in this room, we were wrong to air that material. And I accept full responsibility for our mistake.
And while we cannot take back those words that were aired on our radio stations, we are taking steps to ensure that it will not happen again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLARKIN: Now as for Stern, here's what he had to say on this morning's radio broadcast.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
HOWARD STERN, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Right after the Super Bowl, I have told you all along, the one thing I'm good at in life is predicting...
ROBIN QUIVERS, RADIO TALK SHOW CO-HOST: Well, once again, you know, it's that saturation of the air waves with Howard Stern clones. It's part of the problem. Because they have been the ones getting in trouble for last several years.
STERN: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLARKIN: Now, in speaking with broadcast executives this morning they say all these moves by Clear Channel obviously an effort to achieve their image on the eve of this Capitol Hill hearing. They are skeptical as to how long this will last. They say the Super Bowl fiasco with Janet Jackson obviously gave lawmakers and regulators a lot of ammunition to use in their efforts to clean up the airwaves.
But a lot of folks believe it is a politically-charged year, obviously an election year. And they wonder how long interest in this topic will remain past November -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Interesting point, Greg Clarkin. As we just heard from the broadcast this morning, Robin Quivers exchanging with Howard Stern there, there are an awful lot of imitators out there. The whole shock jockery, if you will, has got to be a little bit worried about what's going on here.
CLARKIN: You know, Miles, it's an interesting point because one of the legislators brought up this morning in a question to Hogan saying, Listen, this is Howard Stern's reputation. You knew what you were getting when you carried this show. What changed here?
Hogan answered that by saying, Well, Stern hasn't changed, but we've changed in how they view what they want to put on the air.
And again we should stress that Stern was only suspended. The show is not being done away with. A lot of folks believe maybe that keeps the door open for him possibly returning to those stations at some point in the future.
O'BRIEN: All right, Greg Clarkin in New York. And a special tip of the hat to WXRK for their help in getting us that Howard Stern soundbite that you just saw. We appreciate it. We'll debate this top story and hear from a Clear Channel shock jock, another one of those Stern imitators perhaps, a little later on LIVE FROM...
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
