Even though Opie and Anthony’s fans staunchly defended their brand of entertainment, outrage was directed at the radio personalities and their parent company from many quarters.
As their punishment, they were told to go home, sit out their contract, and deposit large paychecks from Infinity Broadcasting into their checking accounts. (We should all be punished so harshly).
As Anthony Cumia told the New York Post in July of 2004: "Infinity enjoyed what we were doing for them, and we got the [ratings] that they could sell," says Anthony Cumia, 39. "When the heat got too hot, they kicked us out the door."
It’s not the first time radio personalities have been sacrificed to the Outrage Gods and it won’t be the last.
I have maintained all along that the current “Indecency” crusade permeating Radio and TV actually began with this incident, not with Janet Jackson showing her breast on national TV. Her actions only excaberated what was already a bubbling undercurrent.
But, what Opie and Anthony did on-the-air that summer was no worse than what suggestive and steamy TV soap operas have done for decades; no worse than the content Howard Stern has broadcast since the mid 1980s; no worse than much of the dialogue prime-time television has built ratings on.
The difference was the Opie and Anthony sex stunt took place in a church – a catholic church – the same denominational church now drowning in financial settlements because for decades priests couldn’t keep their hands off young boys.
We seem to demonstrate more outrage against two deejays just screwing around on-the-air than church leaders and guardians of our faith who commit illegal and reprehensible sexual acts on juveniles.
How ironic and hypocritical at the same time.
