Opinion
 

Staff Editorial

                            Matt Dulin    Barrett Goldsmith    Zach Lee 
                Jim Parsons            Christian Schmidt           Blake Whitaker

It sells

In the wake of Janet Jackson's breast baring, broadcasters are scrambling to prove they care about tastefulness and cleanliness on the airwaves -- mostly because the Federal Communications Commission is threatening greater scrutiny and heavier fines.

They care so much that corporations like Clear Channel, which owns more radio stations than any other media conglomerate, cut the Howard Stern show from a half dozen of its stations. 

In backlash, Stern cried censorship.

"They're so afraid of me and what this show represents," he said on Thursday's show, The Associated Press reported.

It's easy to see why. Media companies' top executives are testifying at Congressional hearings on inappropriate broadcasting. Clear Channel made its move to cut Stern a day before its scheduled hearing appearance. 

Even this year's Academy Awards will be broadcast on a tape-delay -- a first for the 76-year-old show -- in hopes to avoid the legal quandary U2 lead singer Bono put NBC in after his speech during the Golden Globe Awards show last year.

While precautions like that are advisable for live events, actions such as clamping down on "controversial" outlets like Stern and the Florida-based disc jockey "Bubba the Love Sponge," amount to little more than pre-emptive censorship. Corporations aren't concerned about inappropriateness; if they were, they would have dealt with it before it got to this point. 

Stern was to blame for more than $1.7 million worth of FCC infractions last year, but he was kept on the air nationwide. Why? Because he sells.

"Bubba" wasn't yanked until the FCC threatened a $755,000 fine after the show aired sexually explicit content. Why did they air it? Because it sold.

Inappropriate broadcasting will continue so long as it attains popularity. Why? Because it sells.

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