January 4 - Motorola's iRadio For Mobile Phones Debuted
Motorola launched iRadio with 435 commercial-free radio channels. The company said the new subscription music service "seamlessly moves from home, to car stereo, to wireless headphones -- powered from the one device you're never without: your mobile handset."
January 9 - Howard Stern debuted his new show on SIRIUS Satellite Radio.
Howard Stern's high-profile defection from Terrestrial Radio to Satellite Radio not only caused a huge financial loss at CBS Radio but signaled the end of an era. Stern vs. the F.C.C. was a drama which unfolded over two decades, propelling him to radio stardom and defining the limits for radio's most outspoken personalities.
March 7 - Eliot Sptizer Sues Entercom Communications For Payola
Newsday.com reported: "Gifts, trips and cash were used to pave the way for air time for certain songs and artists at radio stations owned by one of the nation's largest chains, according to lawsuit filed by [New York] state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. The suit...[targeted]...Entercom Communications Corp. based in Bala Cynwyd, Pa. The company owns and operates 105 radio stations, including seven stations in Buffalo and four in Rochester."
May 3 - Bob Dylan's XM Satellite Radio Show Debuted
Simply said, Bob Dylan has emerged as Satellite Radio star. During a time when both XM and SIRIUS were throwing people with name recognition against the programming wall to see what stuck, Dylan actually emerged as one with a great knack for entertaining and presenting a unique radio show.
June 16 - President Bush Signed Off On New Radio Indecency Fine: $325,000 Per Violation
Today.reuters.com reported: "U.S. President George W. Bush...signed into law legislation that raises fines tenfold for radio and television broadcasters that violate U.S. decency standards by airing extensive profanity or sexual content. The new law, which boosts fines to as much as $325,000 per violation from $32,500..."
June 19 - Kiss FM Received the Largest Fine Every Imposed on a British Radio Station
From timesonline.co.uk: "THE Kiss FM breakfast show has been given the largest fine to be imposed on a British radio station for serious breaches of broadcasting rules. Emap Radio, the owner, was ordered to pay £175,000 for a hoax interview and failing to protect children from foul and sexually explicit language during the show, presented by the DJ Bam Bam. It has terminated his £1.2 million contract. Bam Bam, whose real name is Peter Poulton, is a Sony Award-winning DJ whose show had 800,000 listeners.
