FCC gives Oprah a free ride because she is "beloved" (May 1, 2004)

The FCC gives Oprah a pass -- she's not indecent.

THE moral arbiters at the FCC have officially declared that Oprah Winfrey is free to describe oral and anal sex acts on air - but Howard Stern is not. Stern show regular Captain Janks phoned the shock jock yesterday to report that the FCC had sent him a response to his complaint about a recent "Oprah" episode in which an O! magazine editor graphically described the act of "tossing salad." The FCC's deep thinkers said: "We previously found that fleeting and isolated remarks of this nature do not warrant commission action because the complained-of material does not fall within the scope of the commission's indecency prohibition. We reject the claims that this program content is indecent and we need not reach the second element of the indecency analysis." But Stern was recently slapped with a $27,500 fine for a discussion that was remarkably similar to Oprah's. An FCC aide then admitted to The Post that Oprah can cross the line with impunity because she is "beloved" while Stern can be persecuted at will because he's "a lightening rod."

That fact means Howard Stern wasn't successful in his campaign to get the Commission to rule her show about teenage sexual practices to be over the line. Stern gleefully promises to air the audio of her controversial bit on his own show today -- the same bit Infinity lawyers didn't want him to run earlier this year.

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Has the FCC decided that it's OK to graphically talk about sex as long as OPRAH WINFREY's around? HOWARD STERN "wack packer" CAPTAIN JANKS told STERN on THURSDAY that he's received a letter from the FCC that essentially says the MARCH 18, 2004 OPRAH show on which the host and a guest author discusses "tossed salads" and "rainbow parties" was not indecent. The letter, according to the NEW YORK POST's PAGE SIX, allegedly says that the Commission "previously found that fleeting and isolated remarks of this nature do not warrant Commission action because the complained-of material does not fall within the scope of the Commission's indecency prohibition. We reject the claims that this program content is indecent and we need not reach the second element of the indecency analysis." STERN vowed to play the audio of the OPRAH segment on FRIDAY's show but did not do so; he did, however, say that he had met with MEL KARMAZIN on THURSDAY and that KARMAZIN basically calmed him down after STERN told him he was thinking about leaving radio. And the FCC, for its part, has not released any ruling on the issue and has not acknowledged any letter responses to complainants about the OPRAH incident.

The moral arbiters at the FCC have officially declared that Oprah Winfrey is free to describe oral and anal sex acts on air - but Howard Stern is not. Stern show regular Captain Janks phoned the shock jock yesterday to report that the FCC had sent him a response to his complaint about a recent "Oprah" episode in which an O! magazine editor graphically described the act of "tossing salad." (read NY Post) read

The same company that kicked shock jock Howard Stern off its radio stations to stem ''the rising tide of indecency'' owns a billboard seen everyday by more than 100,000 South Florida road jockeys -- some of them shocked and puzzled by its message. This is what the ad on the billboard says: FCUK FM. The billboard, which advertises a new British-based Internet radio station run by clothing and accessories company French Connection United Kingdom, towers over Interstate 95 just north of State Road 836 in downtown Miami -- one of the region's busiest stretches of road (read Miami Herald) read

Insideradio.com: Oprah's case is still under review at the FCC. Was Howard Stern himself punked yesterday, by a caller's claim that the FCC had written him a letter denying his complaint? Stern's been encouraging complaints about an Oprah segment detailing teen sexual practices. Today the FCC tells Inside Radio "we have not issued a letter" about the Oprah situation -- and insists it's still under review. Another thing: Stern apparently didn't play a tape of the Oprah show today, as he'd threatened on Thursday.