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Clear Channel's Hypocrisy
Howard Reich writes about the FCC's crackdown on "shock jocks" and broadcasted indecency in today's Chicago Tribune. Though the entire article is a very good read, one excerpt is particularly telling:
"I'm embarrassed to be here," said Clear Channel CEO John Hogan, during a grandiose apologia before a congressional subcommittee in February.
"I've read the transcripts of the Bubba (the Love Sponge) radio show. As a broadcaster, as the CEO and as the father of a 9-year-old girl, I'm ashamed to be associated in any way with those words. . . .
"I hope that the subcommittee will understand that the Bubbas of the world and the Howard Sterns of the world are the exception rather than the rule, and that they will no longer have a platform on our stations."
Hogan did not disclose, however, why his moral outrage was so late in coming, after Clear Channel had been airing Stern for years. Nor did he mention Britney Spears' recent concert tour--promoted by Clear Channel--during which silhouetted dancers mimed graphic sex acts.
Let me get this straight. It's not okay for radio jocks to air prurient material, but it's okay for Clear Channel to promote a tour by Britney Spears--who appeals primarily to teenaged girls--which includes onstage simulated sex acts. Can you say hypocrisy? Am I being too cynical in wondering if promoting concert tours is more profitable than broadcasting syndicated radio programs?
May 16, 2004 in Current Affairs | Permalink
Comments
Don't know how cynical you are, but you're not wrong. Rich fat American businessmen aren't afraid for their souls, they're only afraid Congress or someone else will fine them huge amounts of money. The reason they peddled all that boring-ass porno in the first place was to make as much money as possible. In 6 or 7 years, it'll buy that 9 year old a nose job and a tit job and all the clothes it takes to look like a trampy little Britney Spears. Don't get me wrong, Britney looks good to me. But along with the dumbing down of America, we're getting a lot of whoring down, too, and she's a vigorous proponent of that. Lord, what difference does it make if her momma insists she's "a nice girl"?
Oh, I just love a good rant! Thanks for the stage.
Posted by: Ron at May 17, 2004 12:19:26 AM
The thing is, they don't have to shock us anymore; they have very little competition. They're in a position to quit with the potty jokes and salvage radio. They could make loads of money without having to pander to the lowest common denominator! But will they?
That's the complaint I had with Harper's article about Clear Channel a few months ago. The writer did a good job being fair, trying to consider if they were as evil as they seem. He made a few good points--Clear Channel hires savvy people, for instance, who are already working in each market. What the writer didn't address, though, is why everything they do still sucks.
Posted by: Adam Robinson at May 18, 2004 6:17:55 AM
