Almasi Has Thoughts for Howard Stern

NCPPR executive director David W. Almasi would like to point something out to Howard Stern:

On April 12, in between complaints about being fined by the FCC for indecent on-air conduct, Howard Stern and his crew discussed a weekend dinner they’d just enjoyed together. With ten of them gathered at a fine suburban Connecticut eatery, they spoke loudly about in-studio events that could never be aired due to content restrictions. Their conversation was reportedly so graphic that a nearby table that couldn’t help but hear them asked to be moved. One of their former neighbors gave them an glare while relocating.

“My sense of community standards is different,” Stern said in shock after first learning about it while on the air.

Exactly. And that is why he is being fined by the FCC. It’s not a conspiracy concocted by President Bush, Secretary of State Powell and the religious right as Stern often rants. Instead, he hasn’t noticed that he’s already pushed his way out of the envelope. Even though the FCC is guilty of not setting clear standards and enforcing them, on-air talent like Stern and so many others who who may now find themselves looking for employment have a duty to police themselves when it comes to questions of good taste.



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