July 21, 2008 - The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Federal Communications Commission "acted arbitrarily and capriciously" when it levied a fine against CBS television for the now famous Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction". The court tossed out the $550,000 indecency fine against the network with ramifications for both Radio and TV.
June 15, 2006 - President Bush signs legislation raising the indecency fine to $325,000 per violation.
April 19, 2005 - The National Association of Broadcasters says a task force will issue a voluntary "indecency code" for Radio by early summer.
February 16, 2005 - The House of Representatives passes a modified version of the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005 (H.R. 310) which would increase the penalties to $500,000 per instance for violations by radio broadcasters for transmission of obscene, indecent, and profane material.
December 22, 2004 - The Federal Communications Commission fines Entercom $220,000 for indecent content broadcast on two of its stations: KQRC-FM, Leavenworth, Kansas, and KFH(AM), Wichita, Kansas. Full Story
December 15, 2004 - The Federal Communications Commission declined a petition to revise its rules that would empower the body to regulate "indecency" on Satellite Radio.
November 23, 2004 - The parent company of Infinity Broadcasting (Howard Stern's employer), Viacom, Inc., has agreed to pay $3.5 million dollars in fines for indecency on various broadcast outlets including several of its radio stations. Full Story
October 15, 2004 - The Federal Communications Commission fined KRXQ-FM in Sacramento, California $55,000 for broadcasting apparently indecent material on two separate occasions during the “Rob, Arnie & Dawn In the Morning Show.”
October 6, 2004 - Howard Stern announces he will jump to SIRIUS Satellite Radio in January, 2006 to avoid restrictions of terrestrial Radio.
August 12, 2004 - Emmis Communications agrees to pay $300,000 to resolve indecency complaints the F.C.C. had been investigating.
July 22, 2004 - Tommy Smith, longtime Little Rock morning radio personality, was fired by employer Clear Channel Communications for what the company would only say were reasons related to its recent "Zero Tolerance" policy on Radio indecency.
June 22, 2004 - FMQB.com reports: "By a 99-1 margin, the U.S. Senate today approved an amendment that would dramatically increase indecency fines...the measure was attached to a $447 billion Defense Department funding bill. Under the amendment, the maximum fine for a single indecency incident would climb from $27,500 to $275,000 for licensees, and to $11,000 for air talent -- for a maximum of $3 million a day."
June 14, 2004 - Reuters reported: "[Because] a stand-alone bill that would raise the fines tenfold to $275,000 per violation has been stuck in the Senate...U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback said...he would try to add a provision aimed at substantially hiking fines for airing indecent material on broadcast television and radio to a defense measure now being debated by the Senate."
June 9, 2004 - The F.C.C. and Clear Channel Radio reach an agreement where C.C. pays $1.75 million to the U.S. Treasury and in return, all indecency and other general complaints by listeners against the broadcast chain are dropped.
June 1, 2004 - Mel Karmazin stepped down as President/COO of Viacom, the parent company of Infinity Broadcasting, Howard Stern's syndicator. Karmazin has consistently defended Stern and his program.
May 24, 2004 - Howard Stern is quoted at FMQB.com as saying he was "exasperated by the indecency crackdown. After discovering that this morning's 'Robin Crapped Her Pants' song parody had been edited by show censors, Stern vented. 'I am so done with this situation,' he told listeners. 'It's ridiculous. I want out, I want to go work for another medium where I can talk and not worry if Slash says the F-word. I want that, I crave it now. I want out of this.'
May 22, 2004 - Eric Idle Releases "The FCC Song" - Free Download
April 19, 2004 - Viacom, Fox, RadioOne, Citadel, Beasley, Intercom and others announce they will fight F.C.C's recent reversal on Bono's "F" word and challenge the agency's legal standing to punish broadcasters with fines or license revocations over other words the agency doesn't like.
April 8, 2004 - The F.C.C. fines Clear Channel Radio again. This time for $495,000 "for apparently willfully broadcasting indecent material" in connection with the “Howard Stern Show”. (This fine based on content aired on Clear Channel stations before Stern was removed on February 25, 2004)
March 19, 2004 - Clear Channel Communications invoked its “Zero Tolerance Policy on indecency and suspended “The Regular Guys”, two of its Atlanta talk show hosts at WKLS-FM (96 Rock). While talking to a porn star when they thought they were not on-the-air, portions of the unedited conversation actually did air live.
March 12, 2004 - F.C.C. fines Clear Channel another $247,900 for indecency for material aired by the “Elliot in the Morning” program on Stations WWDC-FM, Washington, D.C., WRXL-FM, Richmond, Virginia, and WOSC-FM, Bethany Beach, Delaware.
