Broadcasters fight fines for sleaze shows

The nation’s two largest radio companies are resisting the Federal Communications Commission’s most recent fines against them, the latest example of big media companies challenging the government’s crackdown on broadcasting material it deems indecent.

Infinity Broadcasting Corp., in a 64-page document filed with the FCC this week, contested a $27,500 penalty that stemmed from a 2001 broadcast of “The Howard Stern Show” in which the host discussed deviant sexual acts.

In its petition, the company charged the FCC with waging a campaign to stifle free speech.

In a separate document, Clear Channel Communications Inc. has asked the FCC to reduce a $247,500 fine the agency proposed against it, saying the company has taken steps to ensure it will not air material the government deems indecent. The fine stemmed from a sexually oriented interview D.C.-area disc jockey Elliot Segal conducted in March 2003.

On Monday, several big media companies — including Viacom Inc., Infinity’s parent company — joined activists and performers in signing a petition that asks the FCC to reverse a recent ruling against the musician Bono’s use of an expletive on a televised awards show, saying the agency’s decision was chilling free speech on the airwaves.

“The commission has abruptly and systematically altered almost every aspect of indecency enforcement in ways that dramatically undermine the lawfulness of the overall scheme,” Infinity wrote in its petition contesting the $27,500 fine.

Infinity’s efforts to resist the FCC’s penalties are not surprising because Mr. Stern is the company’s biggest star, said John Dunbar, project manager for the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit political watchdog group that has studied the FCC’s fines.

“[Mr. Stern] generates a tremendous amount of money for Infinity,” Mr. Dunbar said. He also cited the close relationship between Mr. Stern and Viacom’s president and chief operating officer, Mel Karmazin, who has defended the radio host’s behavior.

Mr. Stern’s show, which airs in 35 cities, is the subject of another FCC investigation that might lead to a fine of as much as $1.5 million for Infinity, according to reports.

Spokesmen for Infinity, Clear Channel and the FCC declined comment yesterday.

Infinity has not paid an FCC fine since 1995, when it reached a $1.7 million settlement with the agency involving several incidents that stemmed from Mr. Stern’s program. The company acknowledged no wrongdoing in that settlement.

The FCC has fined Infinity or corporate cousin CBS Radio seven times since the settlement, including the penalty Infinity is now protesting. In some cases, Infinity contested the fines, triggering a back-and-forth between the company that lasted beyond the FCC’s statute of limitations on collecting money.

For example, the FCC proposed a $2,000 penalty in August 1998 against an Infinity-owned station in Los Angeles that broadcast a sexually suggestive song. The company contested the decision, but the FCC would not dismiss it.

The agency eventually turned to the Justice Department to collect the money, but Justice in May 2003 declined to take Infinity to court, saying too much time had passed.

Federal law requires the FCC to propose a fine within one year of the broadcast or by the date of its next license renewal, whichever is later, Mr. Dunbar said.

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