MORE FCC ARTICLES
In addition to what FM JEFF posted (CLICK HERE) 2 new articles about the fineing of O&A. Pretty much the same information rehashed, with some other tiny aspects.
From ALL ACCESS
The FCC is proposing nailing INFINITY for the statutory maximum $357,500. fine for indecency stemming from the infamous OPIE AND ANTHONY ST. PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL incident on WNEW/NEW YORK. The fine was based on "the egregious nature of the material, the involvement of many Infinity employees and managers in planning the marketing event, and Infinity's recent history of the airing of indecent or apparently indecent broadcasts, including the Opie and Anthony Show, over Station WNEW(FM) in NOVEMBER 2000 and JANUARY 2001." The COmmission says it received more than 500 complaints about the AUGUST 15, 2002 "SEX FOR SAM" contest broadcast that led to the segment that got O&A fired.
The Commission also proposed a $55,000. fine, the maximum for two incidents, against CLEAR CHANNEL's AMFM RADIO LICENSES, LLC for the MAY 7 and 8 "ELLIOTT IN THE MORNING" shows on Alternative WWDC (DC101)/WASHINGTON, on the grounds that the show used "crude language" and "explicit sexual references" in an "blatant attempt to mock" the BISHOP DENIS J. O'CONNELL HIGH SCHOOL.
The shows involved a station-sponsored cage-dancing promotion, during which two female students from the high school called in and described themselves as "pretty hot," engaging in "sexual banter," then were asked if they were "kind of like an exhibitionist," "flash(ed) from time to time," did occasional "little show[s] at parties" together with their "boobies out," "at school lined like two or three guys up against the lockers," and had sexual encounters in the school's stairwells and closets. The hosts also asked if the girl had ever "hooked up" or "made out with a teacher," and talked about "lining up" boys "against their lockers," interjecting loud sucking and slurping sounds. The MAY 8 show involved the girls' suspension from the school, including several references to oral sex including "if they're blowing guys at the school, that's not their fault . . . the school needs to do a better job policing," and "some of the priests would ask if they had brothers."
Democratic Commissioner MICHAEL J. COPPS dissented from both decisions, saying that the violations warranted license revocations, calling the fines "a slap on the wrist," and stating that "if this situation does not meet the majority's test for repeated violators, I fail to understand what would. The message to licensees is clear. Even egregious repeated violations will not result in revocation of a license.... I wonder when this Commission will finally take a firm stand against the 'race to the bottom' on our airwaves. The time has come for us to send a message that we are serious about enforcing the indecency laws of our country and that we will be especially vigilant about the actions of repeat offenders such as those cases before us here. Instead we turn an apparently incurable deaf ear to millions of Americans who are fed up with the patently offensive programming sent into their homes so regularly..... It all comes down to this: station owners aren't given licenses to use the public's airwaves to peddle smut. They are given licenses to serve the public interest."
From Radio & Records
FCC Imposes Opie & Anthony Fine: $357,000
That's the statutory maximum, imposed, says the FCC, because of the "egregious nature of the material, the involvement of many Infinity employees and managers in planning the marketing event and Infinity's recent history of the airing of indecent or apparently indecent broadcasts, including The Opie & Anthony Show, over station WNEW/New York." That "history," says the commission, includes broadcasts in November 2000 and January 2001, but the fine is based on the more than 500 complaints the FCC received over the Aug. 15, 2002 "Sex for Sam" promotion, in which a couple allegedly had sex in public in locations throughout New York — including, infamously, inside St. Patrick's Cathedral. Opie & Anthony lost both their WNEW gig and their syndicated show over the stunt, while WNEW later flipped from FM Talk and is now an AC known as "Blink." In a statement dissenting from the O&A fine and a $55,000 fine on Clear Channel for an Elliot in the Morning broadcast on WWDC/Washington, DC (see related story, below), Commissioner Michael Copps says the forfeitures are "no more than a slap on the wrist." He continues, "Neither of these cases is a difficult call. Both are outrageous and both were run by stations whose owners knew better and whose companies have had previous indecent broadcasts brought before this commission." Copps says he would have preferred license-revocation hearings to fines in both cases. Commissioner Kevin Martin writes that he would have preferred a higher fine on Infinity, with each separate indecent discussion treated as a separate violation, while Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein concurs with the O&A fine, saying it sends an "unmistakable message" to Infinity and other broadcasters — though he notes that the commission took "far too long" to impose it and says he would consider license-revocation proceedings for "serious violations" that have occurred since April, when the commission fined Infinity's WKRK/Detroit for graphic broadcasts by hosts Deminski & Doyle and said license revocation could be considered in such cases in the future. Infinity has 30 days to appeal today's fine.
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