Asymmetrical Information

I wonder if Wendy Carlos gave them permission to use (I think) timesteps from the A Clockwork Orange soundtrack. She is moderatly to the left, I think, so it's not a stretch, but I didn't see any credit or note.

While I'm not a fan of the FCC and their current overreaction to nipplegate, Howard should know (and probably does) that if you continue to push the envelope beyond reasonable limits, you're bound to get a paper cut or two. Short term I'm sure it's painful for him, but it's likely reenergized him and his fan base from what had become a boring exercise in predictability and shock radio.

So this woman is test driving a new car and the salesman tells her to test the voice activated radio. So she says "heavy metal" and a rock station playing Led Zepplin comes on. Then she says "classical" and a classical station comes on playing a Mozart Piano Concerto. So she continues driving and listening to the Mozart when suddenly someone rudely cuts her off, almost causing an accident, and she yells "idiot" and the radio changes to Howard Stern.

Howard should know (and probably does) that if you continue to push the envelope beyond reasonable limits, you're bound to get a paper cut or two

Norman, *two-thirds* of the fines the FCC has dished out in the last decade have gone to Howard Stern. That's not "a few paper cuts", that's a vendetta.

Howard Stern isn't responsible for two-thirds of the indecency in modern radio. He's not even responsible for one percent of it. He's just the highest-profile target.

Poor Howard! His accountants are being crucified for our sins.

Dan - I agree he's the highest profile target. But the "woe is me, Bush is to blame" schtick is as wearisome as the FCC. Personally, I'd rather the market to decide. I find Stern indecent, but also not funny, though Err America is just as bad.

Stern is doing it for the publicity. Wasn't anybody watching his governor's campaign? He dropped out when it looked as if he might actually win.
Who knows what he really thinks? He found a schtick that he thinks will drive up his ratings.
He's never really cared what good or bad he does, he just wants ratings. He's shown that over and over for as long as I've listened to him.
He's a nitwit, a funny nitwit who understood early on that "lesbians=ratings".
Most of his listeners who might vote as he says are probably not registered or Democrats anyway.

There's nothing in this entire story that's worth an ounce of righteous outrage. Stern is milking this for all it's worth. He's getting gallons of free ink, gigabytes of free pixels, and his ratings are up after stagnating for a few years. He's been playing this game for a couple of decades, and he's a master at it.

Next time you feel sorry for one of these radio guys who's being "censored," consider this: Bubba the Love Sponge is being payed $70,000 a month for the remainder of his ClearChannel contract (about two years). He's just signed a deal with Sirius for another $80,000 a month (a buddy of mine knows his, ah, representation). Atlanta's Regular Guys are also negotiating with Sirius.

None of them are going broke, and all of them are staying on the air, at handsome rates, for the indefinite future...

What I don't understand is why the consensus has emerged that Prez Bush is the driving force behind FCC policy. The FCC is a federal agency with its own executive and agenda.

And, something else is getting lost here. As I understand it, Stern's punishment is over "indecency" in the traditional sense, which means sexual indiscretions. I believe that the incident that actually led to the fines was Stern's use of the "N" word. A special case seems to be made for this word, especially when used by a white man.

For comparision purposes, watch The Chappelle Show. The "N" word is used with sledge hammer repetition. The only difference I can see is that Dave Chappelle is black, and thus entitled to use it.

Am I wrong or is everybody avoiding the real issue here?

Excuse me, it should have said:

And, something else is getting lost here. As I understand it, Stern's punishment is not over "indecency" in the traditional sense, which means sexual indiscretions.

Stephen-- The Chappelle Show is also on Comedy Central. The FCC has authority over broadcasting, both radio and TV, but not cable and such... grounded in a belief that the spectrum on the airwaves is leased from the government.

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