Those who want to believe that Howard Stern is being persecuted for his criticism of the President may want to brush-up on their history:
A 1988 Howard Stern broadcast of a “Christmas Party” over three stations including WXRK-FM, New York prompted the F.C.C. to fine each station a paltry $2,000 because of indecent programming broadcast at times when children would likely be listening. Then, in 1995, Infinity – the company that fired “Opie and Anthony” – paid $1.7 million dollars in fines for Stern’s “indecency”.
The big fine levied against Stern by the Clinton Administration served to raise the bar for shock jocks, essentially providing Stern with the franchise for tasteless radio programming. Nobody could compete unless they were able to pay such a fine, and nobody who didn’t already have a huge audience could get a syndicator.
So now Stern has climbed upon a cross and declared himself a victim of Bush and the Religious Right, weaving a web of lies to cover himself, such as the claim that he can’t go to XM radio because it’s 30% owned by Clear Channel (the correct figure is somewhere between 4 and 8%; see comments here.).
How far will this idiot go to promote himself, and how gullible are his supporters?