Shock Jock Stern Crosses Swords with FCC's Powell

Tue Oct 26, 6:24 PM ET

By Jeremy Pelofsky

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Radio shock jock Howard Stern, who is moving to satellite radio to avoid broadcast decency rules, traded verbal jabs on air with Federal Communications Commission (news - web sites) Chairman Michael Powell on Tuesday, charging him with nepotism and undermining free speech.

"It is apparent to most of us in broadcasting that your father got you your job," said Stern, who called in while Powell was being interviewed on San Francisco's KGO-AM 810.


Powell shot back that his father, Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites), had nothing to do with his appointment. The FCC (news - web sites) chief was nominated to the commission by then-President Bill Clinton (news - web sites) and elevated to chairman by President Bush (news - web sites).


"You can look at my resume if you want, Howard, I'm not ashamed of it, I think it justifies my existence," he said.


The FCC has proposed fining stations a total of about $2.5 million for airing incidents on Stern's show, including a $495,000 fine against Clear Channel Communications Inc. stations for an incident that led the company to drop him from six stations, according to the Center for Public Integrity.


Regulations bar broadcast television and radio stations from airing indecent material -- typically explicit sexual talk, profanity, or nudity -- when children are likely to be listening, usually from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.


The two jousted for more than 10 minutes. The FCC chief initially resisted taking calls from audience listeners but relented and Stern pounced after getting word of the show.


"I don't think that you personally hate me ... I think what you've been doing is dangerous to free speech," Stern said. "I think things have gotten way out of control."


The radio personality has signed a deal to take his show in 2006 to Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., a subscription service to which decency rules do not apply.


Stern accused Powell and the FCC of preventing Viacom Inc., which presently syndicates Stern's show, from going to court to challenge fines and blocking them from acquiring more stations because of tussles over decency violations.


"That's flatly false ... there's no reason why Viacom or any other company who feels that they have been wrongly fined can't sue us in court," Powell said.


Mark Silverman, the producer of Ronn Owens' show on which the two appeared, said Powell was caught by surprise and appeared to be tense, and his staff was angry.


"The chairman handled himself quite well even though he wasn't prepared," Silverman told Reuters.


Powell denied on the show that he was nervous being confronted by Stern.


(Additional reporting by Sue Zeidler in Los Angeles)


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