Clear Channel and FCC said to reach deal on indecency
WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission has reached a record-setting, nearly $2 million settlement with
Stern was the cause of the previous record settlement between the FCC and a radio company. In 1995,
The deal, which could be announced as early as today, is the result of months of negotiations between the FCC and Clear Channel, the nation's largest radio company with more than 1,250 stations, according to the sources, who declined to be identified because the details of the agreement have not been finalized. Officials for the company and the FCC declined to comment yesterday.
One source said the deal would not only cover Clear Channel's outstanding fines but dozens of listener complaints in the FCC's indecency pipeline that have not been ruled on. If those complaints became fines, they could cost the radio company millions.
In April, the FCC levied a $495,000 fine against six Clear Channel stations for sexually explicit remarks made by Stern during an April 2003 broadcast.
In March, the FCC fined three Clear Channel stations, including Washington's DC101, $247,000 for sexual material broadcast by morning show host Elliot Segal.
In January, the FCC hit six Clear Channel stations with a $755,000 fine for sexual material aired in July, November, and December 2001 by since-fired Florida deejay Todd Clem, who calls himself "Bubba the Love Sponge."
After the FCC's enforcement bureau levies a fine, a broadcaster can choose to pay it, contest it, or negotiate a settlement. It takes a majority vote of the FCC's five commissioners to demand a fine or accept a settlement. Sources said the deal was approved by a vote of 4 to 1.
