Congress praises Clear Channel cleanup

Congressmen praised the president of the nation’s largest radio chain yesterday for pulling Howard Stern off the air, but scolded him for suggesting that his company might not pay the indecency fine levied against it last month.

John Hogan, president of Clear Channel Radio, appeared before the House Energy and Commerce’s telecommunications and the Internet subcommittee hours after the company yanked Mr. Stern’s syndicated morning show off the six Clear Channel stations that carried it.

Clear Channel said it would refuse to air Mr. Stern “until we are assured that his show will conform to acceptable standards of responsible broadcasting.”

“This was a bold step, and I commend [you] for it,” Rep. Fred Upton, Michigan Republican and the panel’s chairman, told him. Mr. Hogan said he was “embarrassed” that he had been asked to testify before the panel.

Mr. Hogan said he was “ashamed” of Clear Channel’s “Bubba the Love Sponge” show, which aired on four of its Florida stations. The Federal Communications Commission recently proposed a $755,000 fine — the largest in its history — against the company for sexually explicit content on that program and other indecency violations.

Clear Channel Communications Inc., which owns or programs 1,225 stations across the nation, fired “Bubba” disc jockey Todd Clem on Tuesday. On Wednesday, it announced it would suspend any on-air performer accused by the FCC of airing indecent programming and require performers to pay part of any federal fine.

“We were wrong to air that material. I accept responsibility for our mistake, and my company will live with the consequences,” Mr. Hogan said. Later he said Clear Channel has not paid the fine.

“The legal implications for paying that fine are significant, and so we are carefully considering that,” Mr. Hogan said.

Rep. Charles W. “Chip” Pickering Jr., Mississippi Republican, told Mr. Hogan “there needs to be consistency between what you put on the air and what you contest at the FCC. … If you say one thing here, one thing at the FCC and one thing in the courts, we don’t know which one to believe.”

An FCC spokeswoman declined to comment on the $755,000 fine. “We don’t comment on open cases,” she said.

Mr. Hogan joined executives from ABC, Fox, NBC and Pax broadcast television networks in testifying before the House panel, which voted earlier this month to increase the maximum fine for indecency to $275,000 from $27,500.

Under questioning from Rep. Edward J. Markey, Massachusetts Democrat, executives from each of the networks said they would consider airing more public-service announcements promoting the V-chip, which helps parents prevent their children from watching programs they deem unsuitable.

The network executives said they would also consider broadcasting parental-guidance ratings for prime-time programs after each commercial break.

They were more reluctant to follow Clear Channel’s lead and require performers to pay part of the FCC fines.

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