Howard Stern, the self-proclaimed King of All Media, hopped into the ring with one of his biggest adversaries on Tuesday.
The shock jock launched a surprise radio attack on Federal Communication Commission Chairman Michael Powell by calling into San Francisco radio host Ronn Owen's morning show, where the FCC chief was a guest.
Powell reluctantly agreed to take calls during the show and, lo and behold, Howard from New York got on the line.
Over the course of a 12-minute back-and-forth debate, Stern tore into Powell, alleging that his father, Secretary of State Colin Powell, got him his job, and that he was unqualified to handle the position.
"How did you get your job? It is apparent to most of us in broadcasting that your father got you your job, and you kind of sit there and you're the judge, you're the arbiter, you're the one who tells us what we can and can't say on the air," Stern said.
"And yet I really don't even think you're qualified to be the head of the commission."
Powell defended himself rigorously, stating, "You can look at my résumé if you want, Howard, I'm not ashamed of it, I think it justifies my existence."
That résumé includes Powell's credentials as an attorney and as former chief of staff of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division. He was appointed to the FCC in 1997 by President Clinton and became chairman in 2001 after George W. Bush took office.
"I think it's a cheap shot to say just because my father is famous, I don't belong in my position," Powell said.
"It's not a cheap shot to say to you that your father got you your position," Stern replied. "You got to the front of the class the way George W. Bush got out of the draft."
Stern, a favorite FCC whipping boy for years and the most fined radio personality in the agency's history, relished his tête-à-tête with Powell, especially in light of recent developments.
Earlier this year, the FCC proposed a $495,000 fine against Clear Channel Communications for a Stern radio show that was deemed indecent, leading the media giant to drop Stern from its airwaves in April. Clear Channel later settled with the FCC for a record $1.75 million for complaints lodged against Stern and other deejays.
However, Powell denied that Stern had been specifically or unfairly targeted.
"I've been chairman for almost four years. I think we've had fines against your station twice. I don't think we have made any particular crusade of the Howard Stern Show or you," Powell said.
"Okay, Michael, that's why I've received the largest fines in history," Stern fired back.
"I think what you've been doing is dangerous to free speech," Stern said."I don't think just against me, I think things have gotten way out of control."
Earlier this month, Stern announced that he had signed a five-year, $500 million contract with Sirius Satellite Radio after his contract with Infinity Broadcasting Corp. expires at the end of 2005.
Stern made it clear that his decision to leave terrestrial radio was based on the regulations and restrictions imposed on his show by censors. He said he looked forward to bringing "my fans my show my way."
The Howard Stern Show is the top-rated radio program in many of the 46 cities where it is broadcast, including New York and Los Angeles, and is the highest rated TV program on E! Entertainment Television, E! Online's sister company.
"Brian, if I parked a supertanker in Central Park, painted it neon orange, and set it on fire, it would be less obvious than your stupidity." --RedImperator
Screw the FCC. I just hope jackasses like Redstone realize that by turning the FCC into a nanny, they are doing to radio what they've already done to TV: driving people toward subscription-only programming. Their loss, not mine. I prefer satellite TV because I don't like commercials. Radio will be the same way. Sirius here I come!
Bah - a bunch of megalomaniac lop-sided thought police and a total waste of funding, I say. One should think that the government has better things to spend its funding on than "protecting our children" by punishing someone for talking about the relation of slang terms to various parts of the human body - and forgiving those who speak of oral/anal sex because it was in an "educational" format.
I'm going to Sirius just as soon as I can afford it. Not for Stern, though--Sirius carries NPR and every single NFL game.
Any city gets what it admires, will pay for, and, ultimately, deserves…We want and deserve tin-can architecture in a tinhorn culture. And we will probably be judged not by the monuments we build but by those we have destroyed.--Ada Louise Huxtable, "Farewell to Penn Station", New York Times editorial, 30 October 1963 X-Ray Blues
..Stern's a twerp. So is the FCC, collectively. Guess I'll have to adopt my trademark stance.
Stand in the middle, give the finger to both sides.
Chronological Incontinence: Time warps around the poster. The thread topic winks out of existence and reappears in 1d10 posts.
Out of Context Theatre, this week starring Darth Nostril.
-'If you really want to fuck with these idiots tell them that there is a vaccine for chemtrails.'
I'm a regular listener to KGO, the station this occurred on. They were playing parts of the clip throughout the day. I don't listen to Owens because of his time slot but from what I caught Stern did a pretty good job.
I'm not a Stern fan but don't agree with this FCC crap either.
