Slashdot Mirror
FCC's Powell vs. Howard Stern on KGO-AM
Lauren Weinstein writes "Greetings. Tuesday morning on KGO-AM radio in the San Francisco Bay area, host Ronn Owens was interviewing FCC Chairman Michael Powell when Howard Stern called in. The resulting exchange was certainly interesting. The audio clip is available via my blog.
that was fast.
Who the hell would post and link to an audioclip on their server to slashdot.
The funny part I heard on the radio this morning was Michael Powell denying his family connections had anything to do with his appointment. I would have more respect for him if he had combined his answer 'look at my resume' with an acknowledgement that all political appointments are just that -- political.
Oprah didn't get fined for talking about tossed salads on her show, Bono didn't get fined for saying the horrible F word on live TV. But after janet's nasty boob popped out, they pulled a 3 year old tape of the stern show and deemed it indecent, then fined Viacom the biggest indecency fine in history. The point is, how are radio people supposed to jnow what's indecent, when they pull 3 year old stuff to fine you with? Michael Powell is the head of the FCC, and is responsible for this nonsense. I hope he's replaced very soon.
Did Howard forget to bring them up? What kind of Stern shows this ?!?!
Transcript of the conversation can be found on Jeff Jarvis's Buzzmachine.
(Sorry Jeff)
"The audio clip is available via my blog."
That's a self-negating statement if I've seen heard one.
yes, we have no bananas
As much as I like Howard Stern's radio show, he's really hurting his own cause at this point.
Accusing Michael Powell of nepotism will get him air time on the Today show, but it hardly has the same impact of Jon Stewart taking on the Crossfire hosts on the actual ISSUES in media.
By the way, I strongly suspect that's what's happening here...Jon Stewart is getting a lot of positive attention appearing on other people's shows, 60 Minutes, Crossfire, so Howard Stern jumped on the bandwagon. There's a huge difference, though. Jon Stewart made valid, well thought out points, backing them up with facts, even quotes from his show, even though he certainly had an axe to grind.
Howard just called Michael Powell names. I'd expect that from Stuttering John.
One more year and Howard will be off the terrestrial radio and onto my Sirius - then the FCC can go after Oprah all it wants. Supposedly they truly are investigating her. Sure.
He should just stop this childish behavior for now and leave things alone, he's not helping his case at all.
Powell handles himself well: he can talk sense on the fly. I'd say he has a lot upstairs. Much of what the FCC has been doing is pretty wrong, but that's what politicians do, and we can't even give Powell all the blame, since he's not the only FCC commissioner.
Stern didn't make much sense, and didn't want to hear anything that didn't fit his conspiracy theories. He sounded spiteful and small. At least his ``good luck to Michael Powell'' sounded sincere. Maybe he realizes that without the notoriety the FCC has given him, he probably wouldn't be moving to satellite radio.
See what I've been reading.
Please dont represent it as one.
I read the transcript. Regardless of whether you agree with him, Powell held his own with dignity and respect. Stern's used the "Big Lie" strategy: Repeat something enough, and it seems like truth. Fine for entertainment, appalling for matters of law. Top that with ad hominem attacks and stonewaling, and you get quite a performance.
I'm disgusted, and hope he loses big.
Tom Geller
I find it amusing that they deny that Howard has been singled out by the FCC... meanwhile, he received over 50% of the fines that the FCC slapped on broadcasters over the past five years.
;-)
Now you tell me if that isn't showing that they are trying to use him as an example!
"Never give up, for that is just the time and place when the tide will change." -Harriet Beecher Stowe ^_^
why doesn't stern organize mass complaint filings
He did.
He did.
then if the fcc takes no action on thousands of letters, he can genuinely talk about hypocricy
He did. That was the clip you were commenting on.
Here you go > http://www.buzzmachine.com/archives/2004_10_26.htm l#008280
"If we censor Stern (who is strongly anti-Bush, if that's a coincidence I'll eat my shoe)"
If memory serves correct, Stern was one of the post 9/11/04 converts to Bush (along with the likes Dennis Miller) and did a 180 after the fines started going out.
Stern is right though, his show is no more racey than Ophra's. What we see happening is a case where laws are being selectively enforced. It's okay to talk about very overt sexual subjects in the feel good context of womens liberation, but in the "dirty context" of sex is fun. It's all about framing.
Burn Hollywood Burn
Fact Check Time:
:)
"2 of the 5 in the FCC board that rules for the fines are Democrats" and "in fact, I was nominated by Clinton"
http://www.fcc.gov/commissioners/
"The FCC is directed by five Commissioners appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for 5-year terms, except when filling an unexpired term. The President designates one of the Commissioners to serve as Chairperson. Only three Commissioners may be members of the same political party. None of them can have a financial interest in any Commission-related business."
In short, Bush picked all of them (Powell was simply retained; the others were newly appointed - all but Adelstein in 2001, with Adelstein being in 2002), and he *had* to have at least 2 Democrats on there - so naturally, he picked Democrats with a strong interest in opposing regulation of media mergers and with strong opposition to "indecency". Clinton *had* to pick some Republicans, and hence, Powell.
"and was more than qualified"
Michael Powell has the least experience in telecommunications and media of all of the board members.
"When the Senate approved a bill allowing for increased fines to be levied it was voted for 99-1."
The bill was riding on a defense spending bill - voting against that would have been politically suicidal. So, it came down to what the Democrats could pull off in committee. They got the fines lowered from 500,000$ to 275,000$,
The amount fines were raised to (275,000$), and included a rider that rolled back a recent FCC media ruling (something Sununu fought tooth and nail to keep out).
"Stern - I'm an ATTN whore"
Ok, this one is true.
POTUS Witch Hunt tracker: 75 charges filed against 19 witches, 4 witches cooperating and 5 witches have pled guilty.
I've always loved this quote.
If you suck on a tit the movie gets an R rating. If you hack the tit off with an axe it will be PG. ~Jack Nicholson
Sig? No, thanks. I don't smoke.
Sig? No, thanks. I don't smoke.
No, he did a 180 before the fines. He read Al Franken's book and he really despises this administration. He's typically pro-Republican - Whitman, Guliani, and Pataki all had good things said about them on his show and at least Whitman said she credited Stern with winning in NJ.
He backed Bush on Iraq, thinking they were an imminent threat to the US. Now that he sees they were not nor were they ever a threat, he's done what a lot of people did and started questioning the war. Not long after, he was dumped by Clear Channel stations and not long after that, fined by the FCC.
The FCC should not have any power over the content of media broadcasts. Regulation of station location and power to make sure they don't interfere, first come, first serve license allocation, that should be the beginning and the end of their little feifdom.
As it is, the FCC is just the (very) sticky little fingers of a wildly out of hand government. Blatant promotion of superstition over reason, inspiring fear of the power structure using fines and jail and confiscation as tools, supporting business monopolies for content management, and exercising broad control over rank and file sexuality and speech - this is what the FCC does in the domain of audio and audiovisual broadcasts. They have usurped the role of the parent and blunder madly about the broadcast media space, restricting speech and content left and right.
We can't do anything about it, either. Well, short of lively revolt, we can't. In the USA, citizens can't create law, can't dispense of bad law, and can't vote on created law. Nor can citizens elect anyone who might be able to effect such changes. That's what we get for letting them foist off a republic on us.
Bend over, Mr. Stern. Just about the time you get on satellite broadcast, no doubt in my mind at all they'll be regulated by the FCC as well.
Why do I say that? Intuition, driven by this experience: Every time I hear the boneyard (XM channel 41) guys say "fuck", I cringe, knowing some religious wacko out there is writing a letter to Michael Powel and crew. You watch. I'm not much for predictions normally, but I think this one, you can take right to the bank.
Sirius is exactly like XM in this context - exactly. You have to realize that satellite isn't like cable. It is not locked to a physical location; it is broadcast through the air, and anyone can hear it emanating from a car, from a boombox in some kid's hand, out of a business's doors, etc. I should know. I own five of the darned things. I'm one of the people that the sound of satellite radio hangs around like a raucous, crazed aura. I bought my kids XM receivers, and told them it was the "sound of freedom." I also pointed out that it wasn't likely to be allowed to persist, that they should enjoy it while they could.
My advice to everyone is get satellite radio now, while it is still the wild west of broadcast media. It is tons more fun than terrestrial sources at this point in time; but I don't think it can continue this way. You can bet your last dollar that the controlling elements that run the system are planning to legislate XM and Sirius into line with the rest of the censored media. Then what you'll have is simply higher fidelity blandness. The gold rush is now. That's exactly why Howard Stern is making the transition. But just as he sees the gold, so does the government, and it is absolutely certain, 100% supported by US history, that they don't like free speech. At all.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.