Dear DUers, outing myself again. I'd appreciate your help, please

[calimary]

Hi guys -

I had a GREAT new experience last night, thanks to my pal Dave Schreiber, a friend and former coworker who's now at ABC Ratio News in New York. They phoned me, at home, for react to the Howard Stern-Clear Channel story, and I spent several minutes pontificating to my heart's content!

I took much the same view that KABC-AM's Ken Minyard expressed, this morning - that my reaction was to start laughing hysterically that all of a sudden Clear Channel decides it's time to "get religion?!?!?!?!?!" I noted that that John Hogan knew he had to testify before Congress today, and undoubtedly hoped to be seen as a responsible broadcaster especially in the light of the criticism of Clear Channel's monopolistic control of America's airwaves during the last big round of FCC hearings. I said I found it funny how only NOW they've got their knickers in a knot about the content of their jocks' presentations, when not a word was said while some of their stations were fomenting discord and hostility toward the Dixie Chicks and anybody who protested the war, in 2002 and 2003. Nobody batted an eyelash about that. Not to mention the antics of Opie and Anthony! Oh yes, and my next immediate reaction, I said, was "HOWARD! For heaven's sakes! WHERE was your delay switch?!"

They asked if I thought this was going to be the end of it, and I pointed out that Howard is always pushing the envelope, and that's why he gets the big bucks and why some 17 million people listen to him devotedly because this is what he's known for. And besides, I said, people probably thought they'd heard it all with the Opie and Anthony affair. I added that it's routinely a LOT more pungent on the air now than it was, even just a few short years ago, when I was working, when many of us had a voluntary self-monitoring rule. You just NEVER said dicey words once you got in the on-air booth, whether the mike was on or not. It'd be anything-goes out in the newsroom, but when you got into the booth, you made sure you were clean as a whistle. They asked why I thought this was such a stink at this point, and I answered that EVEYRTHING'S about morality right now, what with the two big lead stories in the news: the Mel Gibson movie and the gay marriage amendment, on the heels of the Janet Jackson show at the Super Bowl.

They thanked me profusely, and that was that. Until a few minutes later. The woman called me back to say they'd been talking about this in the newsroom and weren't quite sure how to refer to me, which REALLY made me laugh, hard! So, according to them, I'm a "media analyst!" Probably one of the cleaner things I've been called! SUCH fun! Thanks to everybody involved, and of course, to my buddy, ABC's Dave Schreiber!

If you feel like it, perhaps you could email ‘em, or call if it’s possible, and tell ‘em I did good… I'd appreciate it, deeply! Maybe they'll call me again if the reaction's good. I went by my usual on-air name: Mary Lyon.


ABC News
47 W. 66 St., New York, NY 10023
Phone: [phone]
D.C. Bureau phone: [phone]
General e-mail: [e-mail]

[papau]

1. Nicely done, Mary --- Your reward is a couple of today's Bartcop notes

ON BUSH AND JOBS

Manufacturing Sector Retraining
Chairman N. Gregory Mankiw recommended an immediate National initiative to retrain workers for the rapidly-expanding anufacturing sector as seen on thespeciousreport.com
Part 1. Two all-beef patties
Part 2. Special sauce
Part 3. Lettuce
Part 4. Cheese
Part 5. Pickles
Part 6. Onions
Part 7. On a sesame seed bun


AND ON GOP FONDNESS FOR ABSTINENCE TRAINING (WHERE A HALF BILLION OF THIS YEARS AIDS DOLLARS TO AFRICA IS BEING USED - TEACHING THOSE FOLKS THAT THEY SHOULD SAY NO)

Rush is on wife 3, Newt had three wives and two mistresses, Reagan raped a woman before he knocked up Nancy, the only reason Dennis Hastert is Speaker is he's the only Nazi in the House without a sex scandal and they claim a vow of abstinence is what will stop teenagers from having sex?

[dweller]

4. UPDATE Breaking news...

2. Special Sauceing outsourced to Sri Lanka.....film at 11.

dp

[eaprez]

2. What's Most Frightening

...to me is that 17 million people consider themselves fans of this blow hard and are devoted to listening to such crap.

[papau]

5. When MSNBC had Stern's show, the sex and skin was "interesting" but

it still moved so damn slow

And I am to old to stay awake with a slow moving show on TV!

:-)

[northofdenali]

3. Great job!!!!

I'll send 'em an email.

[calimary]

6. I REALLY appreciate that!

Thanks so much! I'm hoping they call me for something else. I've a hankering to get back on the air sometimes... PLUS, it let me plant a few memes...

Naughty me!

[KharmaTrain]

7. A couple of points, clarifications, Mary...

Let me say this is what makes DU so rewarding to check into. Here's a well-written, articulate letter that shows knowledge, thought and crecibility. A far cry from that Freeper letter the other day from the mom outraged for having her child watch Bowling For Columbine.

A couple things I'd like to add. A minor one, Opie & Anthony were Infinity, not Clear Channel and their sin was offending the Catholic Church, not this regime. Again, a small one. Also, "Bubba The Love Sponge" has been a Clear Channel whipping boy (and former corporate owners) for over a decade. He's like the Greaseman (for you DC types)...who had been suspended, fired, rehired, reinstated and transfered around...at one time there were several Bubba's out there. So this amplifies how fraudulent and disengenous the Clear Channel actions as token and over-rated.

When the story broke last night, people assumed Stern would be off around the country...sounded that way when CC announced, just in time for the 6 & 11 newscasts of the suspension...even though it effected only 6 stations! All hat, no cattle...but it has sure stirred a hornests nest...cause Clear Channel, to morons, picked on the one personality who thrives in these pissing matches. Watch Stern come out stronger for this.

How ironic it was this morning to hear how Stern was banished for supposedly using the "N" word, while I scan down the dial and there's Eminem ranting on "Kiss-FM" and R. Kelly swooning the little girls on their local Urban. Then on the AM dial bets are that right wing "patriot" is either on a Clear Channel station or his show originates from one. Guess we're being a tad selective here, eh?

Clear Channel loses nothing from these actions...the revenues they pull from these shows on those 6 stations are pittance as is any fallout that would happen for sacking one jock in Florida. Will this send a chill through radio? Temporarily, but then once the cameras are off, the smuts and sluts will be back again. Eventually the greed gets the best of these bastards.

This is yet another of this regime's non-issues to throw off the media scrutiny of their own actions and frame those who oppose this regime as immoral or worse. Clear Channel's conflicts with this regime are immense and to think they'd get the full wrath of the commission is a joke. This was pure political theater to make their manchild look good...and their hopes of further dereg (they want to take over XM Radio) to move ahead without haste.

[calimary]

8. Clarifications definitely appreciated.

When I mentioned Opie and Anthony, my point was not to tie them directly to Clear Channel, so much as to tie their whole obscenity schtick to this episode. I just lumped 'em all in together, along with Janet and Justin. Granted, others might also take issue with my lumping their hate-mongering against the Dixie Chicks and other war opponents, that's not the same as sexual or racial stuff, but to me, it's still an obscenity - just of another sort. Although, when I was out at some of the rallies, there WAS obscenity. Obscenity in the form of the finger, flipped at us by some motorists who drove by. Happily enough, it never got worse than that, and there were always WAY more cars driving by flashing us the peace sign, or honking their horns and waving in solidarity. Obscenity is obscenity is obscenity. By any other name, still stinky.

You echoed my point exactly, though, about how this won't be anywhere NEAR the end of it. As long as Howard and the rest of 'em keep raking in the revenue and the ratings, the good folks at Clear Channel and other corporate communication megaliths will hold their noses and go right on counting the money. Their hypocrisy was what I was aiming to point out. And if I can make fun of 'em on their high horses while I'm at it, so much the better.

[RainDog]

9. did the ABC guys play the transcript of Stern that day?

I saw this on a blog...it's second-hand info from someone who was listening to the show. If this is true, it definitely should also be mentioned, considering that Rush the hillbilly heroine addict gets a pass from Clear Channel.

from http://www.billmon.com

Update 1:40 pm ET: This is interesting, too. I don't listen to Stern, but an anonymous reader who has files this report:

I heard Stern the morning of program that led to his removal. In the segment leading up to one that got him in trouble he was on a brillant satirical riff on the Janet Jackson "crisis" that ended with him telling the audience that Bush had to go and that he was a one-termer just like his father. It was overtly anti-bush in tone and he built up to it with the JJ thing and telling the government to start worrying about real problems like Iraq. He was pulled the next day.

[calimary]

10. That, I don't know.

I do know they paraphrased in their newscasts, certainly in a MOST gingerly fashion around the offending word(s).

About that anonymous reader input - yes. I've heard that Howard has been dumping on bush. Which, frankly, makes his being yanked off the air - shall we say - especially suspect? I certainly don't recall Limbaugh ever being yanked off the air for some of the (what I consider) obscenity he's spewed, on a daily basis, FOR YEARS.