Indecency on the Air: Shock-Radio Jock Howard Stern Remains 'King of All Fines,' Says Center for Public Integrity

3/18/2004

From: Nathan Kommers, 202-481-1221, nkommers@publicintegrity.org, or Ann Pincus, 202-481-1234, both of the Center for Public Integrity

WASHINGTON, March 18 -- The Federal Communications Commission has levied $3.95 million in fines for broadcast indecency since 1990, with half the total assessed to shock-radio pioneer Howard Stern and his employer Infinity Broadcasting, the Center for Public Integrity reported today. Web site: http://www.publicintegrity.org.

Five radio shows were responsible for $3.44 million in proposed fines since 1990, or 87 percent of the total. The top four shows aired on stations owned by Clear Channel Communications Corp. or Viacom Inc.'s Infinity division, the largest and second largest radio broadcasters in the country, respectively.

Using FCC records and LexisNexis legal research, the Center for Public Integrity identified 72 broadcast indecency proceedings instigated by the FCC since 1990. The Center focused on proposed fines, called "notices of apparent liability."

The controversial New York-based disc jockey's show has been assessed $1.96 million in fines since 1990, according to the Center's analysis. The bulk of those fines were for shows broadcast between 1990 and 1993. Five separate complaints were settled for a record $1.71 million in 1995.

To read the full report go to: http://www.publicintegrity.org.