The Snitch
There is a bigger problem here with the way the FCC works. Obviously the FCC can't monitor all shows all the time. I don't think anybody in his or her right mind would expect such a thing. They should be using a different system for determining where and when fines should be levied. After digging through some articles about the "Bubba" firing, I found that the action by the FCC was brought on by the complaining of a single person, Douglas Vanderlaan, who has been on a three year crusade to try and get the FCC to do something about the "Bubba" program.
- Douglas Vanderlaan is a scientist by profession, and a dad who's top priority is caring for his two sons. Three years ago, he listened to Clear Channel's 'Planet Radio' in Jacksonville, in the middle of a "Bubba the Love Sponge" show featuring a porn-star who went on to give listeners the web address of her personal site.
- "The more I listened, the more irresponsible content I heard," said Vanderlaan. "I just felt this sense of purpose when I first heard that radio broadcast. I thought, 'somebody ought to do something. Why not me'."
- So Vanderlaan recorded several 'Bubba' shows, and joined forces with a broadcast attorney in Washington, D.C., to file a formal complaint with the FCC. That complaint eventually resulted in the $755,000 fine.
- For Vanderlaan, news of Bubba's firing is seen as a gracious victory.
As you can see, a single person has determined the definition of "decency" for a whole lot of people. Doesn't this seem like a flawed system, where a single person can determine what should happen for a whole group of people?
Howard Stern
With all these things in mind, Clear Channel removed Howard Stern's program a day after a caller used THE racial epithet that is most offensive to African Americans. After the caller used the word, Stern hung up on the caller and asked another question. Is it enough to not condone the word? Should the word have never hit the airwaves? I am not the person to answer that question. I am also not the person to determine it for other people.
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