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The Daily Stern

14 comments on The Daily Stern

The Daily Stern

: OFF WITH THEIR HEADS: Ernie Miller gets into a rightful and proper snitfit as he fisks Federal Censor Michael Powell‘s misplaced trumphalism after the Clear Quisling settlement:

Clear Channel copped a plea that some of its broadcasts were indecent. We never find out which specific broadcasts though. “Mistakes were made, although we aren’t quite sure exactly what.” This is actually one of the scariest sentences in Powell’s statement. These are the sort of government settlements one expects in dictatorships. The government gets people or organizations to admit some vague guilt, but how, exactly, they violated the law is never clearly demonstrated.

: Ernie — who has been a leader in media analyzing the importance of the FCC’s expansion into profanity — also wonders why the Clear Quisling decree does not mention profanity.

14 responses to “The Daily Stern”

  1. syn Avatar
    syn

    How come our so-called ‘freedom of speech’ media does not broadcast American anti-war marchers carrying signs such as “Smash the Jews”? Perhaps it is because one of the seven dirty words were not included in the message. What is really Fascism (wishing to Smash the Jews) is not even discussed but rather hidden in order to attempt to prove that somehow the FCC is totalitarian.
    The problem I have with this campaign to save our freedom of speech is that it is selective.
    How come those who are now campaigning this issue of freedom of speech are silent when the issue applies to radio host Dr. Laura who was removed from the public airways because certain people did not like what she said?

  2. shark Avatar
    shark

    Jeff, you’re really gung-ho to have others fight this battle, calling people quislings, etc.
    What are YOU doing?

  3. soup Avatar
    soup

    What Jeff is doing is not letting the issue go away, much like Roger Simon with the Oil for Food scandal. Keep up the great work Jeff.

  4. shark Avatar
    shark

    for a guy who feels so passionately on the issue, he should be doing more than that

  5. Bob Avatar
    Bob

    syn, unless Dr. Laura was removed by the government or because of pressure from the government your exmaple is entirely irrelevent

  6. Bob Avatar
    Bob

    if Dr. Laura was simply droppped by radio stations because of complaints/lack of interest/general boredom with her blather – then that’s just the market working

  7. Bob Avatar
    Bob

    so a comparison between Dr Laura and Howard Stern is really apples and oranges
    any station that wants to serve up her dreck is welcome to

  8. Mike Avatar
    Mike

    bob, than why is clear channel releasing Stern any different? It’s not like the government came to clear channel and demanded they drop Stern, they made a business decision, it was their choice.

  9. Bob Avatar
    Bob

    If what Clear Channel is doing was entirely unrelated to the FCC, then it wouldn’t be so different, but it is clearly related to the FCC and what would appear to be a government crackdown due to an extremely small number of complaints from fringe groups.
    I seriously doubt anyone would try to trace Dr Laura’s displacement to anything govt related – so it’s not a free speech or 1st amendment issue.
    It’s really pretty cut and dry.

  10. Jeff Jarvis Avatar
    Jeff Jarvis

    Shark: And what do you expect me to do? I’m excercising my free speech on behalf of free speech. Want me to go picket the FCC? Get on the radio and say the “f” word? Stick my tongue out at Michael Powell?
    Mike, no Clear Channel said quite clearly that the only reason it was firing Stern after all these years of being quite happy making a lot of money with him was because of the FCC’s fines.

  11. Shark Avatar
    Shark

    Jeff, you’re a man with a respected reputation and name recognition. (to say otherwise you would be a bit modest)
    I’m sure there must be someway or something you can lend your weight to…? You’re very passionate about the issue. Use that! You can’t expect ClearChannel to fight.

  12. Bob Avatar
    Bob

    You can’t expect ClearChannel to fight.
    Why the hell not? OK, I know why – because it’s all about money. I’m just being idealistic. ClearChannel. F-ers.

  13. Kim Avatar
    Kim

    Jeff – I don’t know if you read through the pdf order Ernie had up. These are just snips of it. Keep in mind I agree with market pressure over government pressure. The dissents look, possibly and unintentionally, like Powell has Copps and Adelstein on a leash. CC reformed before the settlement decree but Infinity has not? I don’t know what this agreement will mean to Infinity’s pending fines/investigation. They have wiped the slate for CC going forward but since Infinity has a 1995 settlement/agreement already in place does this mean they might not do the same for Infinity and will that force Infinity to fight it in court. Can anyone shed a legal light on what this agreement will mean going forward?
    STATEMENT OF
    CHAIRMAN MICHAEL K. POWELL
    Oddly enough, these actions are not sufficient for some on the Commission. In their zealousness, they would prefer to expend valuable Commission resources to fully investigate each complaint against Clear Channel only to inflict more punishment. Enforcement of our regulations is not, however, simply a matter of punishment for past behavior. More importantly, our enforcement regime is designed to deter future illegal behavior.
    For one to toss aside these public benefits and demand another pound of flesh suggests that nothing short of economic ruin or license revocation will truly satisfy. I believe such stances are excessively chilling of protected speech in this country and fail to be respectful of the limits imposed upon us by the First Amendment.
    DISSENTING STATEMENT OF
    COMMISSIONER MICHAEL J. COPPS
    I am also troubled by the possible effect of today

  14. Angelos Avatar
    Angelos

    From an article in Mother Jones:
    While Clear Channel chose to go along with the FCC, its main competitor has vowed to fight the fines. According to the Chicago Tribune, Infinity Broadcasting – which paid a then-record $1.7 million settlement in 1995 – has not yet paid any FCC fines dating back to 2000, prompting a March 12 forfeiture penalty from the FCC. As John Dunbar of the Center for Public Integrity told the Tribune, “You really have two very different corporate cultures at work here. On one hand, you’re seeing Infinity fight, and on the other, you’re seeing Clear Channel settle.”
    Smaller radio groups like Entercom Communications and Emmis Communications are also appealing fines, and a pending lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union challenges the FCC on the grounds that the commission has overstepped its bounds. So while the Clear Channel chapter is closed for now, the story of the FCC crackdown is far from over.