Radio Controversies
A Time Line of Events
Crista Leigh Collins
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The following section is a brief time line of controversies in radio.
1954 - Edwin Armstrong, the pioneer of FM radio, commits suicide by leaping from the window of his 13th- floor Manhattan Apartment.
1973 - A father complains to the Federal Communications Commission that his son heard the George Carlin comedy routine "Filthy Words" broadcast on WBAI-fm in New York City. The skit included description and discussion of the "seven dirty words". The pivitol case went to the US Supreme Court in April 1978. It is ultimately decided that the broadcast was indecent and subject to restriction by the FCC.
1985 - "Shock Jock" Howard Stern, his cast and crew are all fired from NBC Radio. This is a result of an off-color, offensive and outrageous sketch called "Bestiality Dial-A-Date".
1993 - Don Imus refers to journalist and PBS anchor Gwen Ifill as a "cleaning lady"
1998 - During an interview with 60 Minutes host Mike Wallace, Don Imus tells a producer that Imus co-host McGuirk was hired to perform "n----r jokes" on-air.
October 2003 - Popular talk radio host Rush Limbaugh resigns from ESPN radio, hours after presidential candidates call for his dismissal. Limbaugh is accused of illegally buying thousands of dollars in perscription painkillers-- most specifically, the drug Oxycotin-- since 1998. In addition to his alleged addiction, Limbaugh apologizes for racially-charged comments that he made on the Sunday NFL Countdown.
January 27, 2004 - The Federal Communications Commission issues a Notice of Apparent Liability of $755,000 against four radio stations owned by Clear Channel Communications. The Notice come as a result of complaints against broadcasts occuring on the Bubba the Love Sponge radio show in 2001. The show's host-- "Bubba the Love Sponge"-- was arrested in 2001 on charges of animal cruelty after broadcasting a recording he and three hunters made while slaughtering a pig. The event-- titled "Bubba's Road Kill Barbecue"-- included several minutes of disturbing noises made by the dying pig. As a result of the Notice and several fines, Bubba's contract with Clear Channel was terminated on February 24, 2004.
December 15, 2004 - Don Imus refers to publishers Simon & Schuster as "theiving Jews". Imus later retracts the comment in a pseudo-apology, calling the statement "redundant".
February 28, 2006 - CBS Radio announces a suit against "Shock Jock" Howard Stern for breach of contract. CBS claims that Stern used their airwaves to promote his move to Sirius Satellite Radio.
May 10, 2006 - Popular WWPR-fm radio personality DJ Star is fired for making a series of racist and violent remarks on-air, including a threat to sexually violate the young daughter of rival Hot 97 host DJ Envy. Star offered listeners $500 for information on where the girl lived and went to school.
April 4, 2007 - Don Imus, host of long-running radio talk show Imus in the Morning, makes derrogartory comments about the Rutgers University women's basketball team. Imus refers to the players as "nappy-headed hos" during an on-air conversation about the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship. On April 11, NBC announces that MSNBC will no longer simulcast Imus in the Morning. On April 12, CBS cancelled Imus, effective immediately.
April 19, 2007 - JV and Elvis-- hosts of WFNY-fm's daily morning show The Dog House-- are fired as a result of making and broadcasting a series of offensive prank calls to a local Chinese restaurant. The duo called in several bogus orders to the establishment, calling employees derrogatory names and referring to a part of a staff member's body as a "tiny egg roll".
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