So Sorry,
So Ashamed
Dumping Howard Stern
It’s hard to believe that the ruthless, unscrupulous Clear Channel Communications has suddenly found a spark of decency in it’s ice cold corporate heart. (Here’s a link to a series of articles in Salon about the company who has done more to harm creative radio than anyone.)
"We were wrong to air that material," said Clear Channel president John Hogan before members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. "I accept responsibility for our mistake, and my company will live with the consequences of its actions."
"I don't think what (Stern) said this week was different from things he's said before," challenged Rep. Fred Upton the chairs for the subcommittee. "Why didn't you do this earlier? Has he actually changed his tune?"
Hogan, the wet spot on his trousers growing noticeably replied, "I don't think he's changed his tune, but we've changed ours. We're going in a different direction at Clear Channel Radio."
Oh really? Here’s an interesting little tidbit that I found in the Kansas City Star’s coverage of the Howard Stern fiasco.
The raunchy, top-rated morning show was suspended at six stations owned by Clear Channel Communications, whose president, John Hogan, apologized for Stern's bad behavior before a congressional committee Thursday. While Hogan was groveling, the top requested song on Clear Channel's Z-100 station in New York was the expletive-filled hit "Don't Want You Back."
Put on your dancing shoes and let’s check out Eamon’s lyrics. <#7 on the charts>
See I don’t know why, I liked you so much
I gave you all, of my trust
I told you, I loved you, now thats all down the drain
Ya put me through pain, I wanna let u know how I feel
Fuck what I said it don’t mean shit now
Fucked presents might as well throw em out
Fuck all those kisses, they didn’t mean jack
Fuck you, you hoe, I don’t want you back
You thought, you could
Keep this shit from me, yeah
Ya burnt bitch, I heard the story
Ya played me, ya even gave him head
Now ya askin for me back
Ya just another hag, look elsewhere
Cuz ya done with me
Fuck what I said it dont mean shit now
Fucked up presents might as well throw em out
…etc
Personally, I don’t think too many kids care that much about Howard Stern. He’s too adult, talks too much about politics and social issues, and worst of all, he’s certifiably old. But the kids sure do love their beats, and Clear Channel is there for them.
I am more than a little perplexed as to why my liberal compatriots in the blog world are giving this story such short shrift. I know that he cops a lot of attitudes that make many liberals uncomfortable. Howard was the first broadcaster to be both educated and politically incorrect. And then there’s the political problem.
Howard Stern, now besieged with calls for his removal from the airwaves, has long been vocal about political issues. And his voice has predominantly been a conservative one. Through his listeners he’s helped elect such politicians as NY governor George Pataki and NJ governor Christine Todd Whitman, a fact they readily admit, and he’s been friends with many other prominent conservative.
But that’s been changing for the past couple of years. As the Bush regime filters it’s way into every aspect of our daily lives, Howard has been changing his tune, to the point where every day has it’s anti-Bush diatribes. And that’s the rub. That’s why Clear Channel, busily pursuing more consolidation in the media market now needs to distance themselves from this nasty man.
Stern on yesterday’s (2/27) show:
"I might be taken off all the stations very soon, and my last words to you are 'G.W.B. Get him out of office. I'm tellin' you, man, he's in dangerous territory [with] a religious agenda and you gotta vote him out - anyone but Bush.”
Does Stern have the power to be a threat to anyone? Trade publication Audio Revolution sums the controversy up nicely in a piece entitled “Could Howard Stern Be the Savior of Satellite Radio?”
Perhaps the political climate will soon simmer down as a natural course of events? Maybe in a few months a new, more moderate American president could create a more harmonious environment in the entertainment business. One thing is for sure, the last guy John Hogan, Mel Karmazin, Michael Powell and especially George W. Bush want to tangle with is Howard Stern. While his content is (and has always been) a little off-color, his audience is wide reaching and highly powerful. He is the kind of catalyst who could inspire radical change whether it is on Pennsylvania Avenue or in the world of satellite radio.
A friend of FGAQ left this comment on an earlier article on this topic. “Howard Stern is no loss, but what if they go after Garrison Keillor for sending up Shrub on PHC?”
To which I can only reply with this well known poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller.
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me. | 
