Who's in Charge at CBS Radio?

By Tony Mazur

A couple of weeks ago, "Free FM" suffered its official, and, for some, long-anticipated demise. With Howard Stern leaving for Sirius Satellite Radio in 2005, CBS Radio had to fill in the cracks. In 2006, CBS unveiled their sure-fire format to give the middle finger to Howard: Hot Talk. All talk, all day.

Howard's old stations were split in three regional syndicates. Van Halen singer David Lee Roth took over the East Coast affiliates, Shane "Rover" French's Rover's Morning Glory had the Midwest region, and former Man Show and Loveline host Adam Carolla took over the West Coast stations. After a few months, the stations started to tank, and some changes needed to be made. All but three of Rover's stations (including WCKG in Chicago, his one-time flagship) dropped his show, and Roth was subsequently canceled in favor of XM's Opie & Anthony.

While there are still FM talk stations, by 2007, the Free FM moniker became a thing of the recent past. Most of them have since flipped to FM sports talk or CHR, aside from WJFK in Washington D.C., where it remains FM talk but does not have the "Free FM" branding. The final Free FM station changed formats in February 2009, when Los Angeles's KLSX (the former flagship home of Adam Carolla and Tom Leykis) flipped to a Top 40 format.

Gregg "Opie" Hughes has been hinting recently on The Opie & Anthony Show that WXRK (once known as WFNY, a Free FM station) will be canceling their show due to a format change, not because of low ratings. Indeed, the announcement was made that on March 11th at 3:00 PM ET, WXRK will become "92.3 Now", a Contemporary Hits format to compete with rival WHTZ.

The hot talk format, in my humble opinion, could have worked with the right promotion and marketing. However, it seemed like CBS preferred to send juvenile jabs to Stern and Mel Karmazin rather than making sales. Well, who's laughing now? Howard and Mel are counting their millions while CBS is firing people and flipping formats left and right.

CBS Radio has dropped the ball with this one once again. It's to the point that they could really care less about their programming. Rather than have a lineup of talented show hosts, it is much cheaper to throw a block of songs on shuffle, in no particular order. CBS is decaying and it's leading to the demise of terrestrial radio.

Politically Incorrect Icons of Yesteryear: "Shock Jocks"

By Tony Mazur

A lot of people feel that radio is dead. I don't believe the industry is dead, but the thought is not far off. Back in the day, radio show hosts were able to be creative and open-minded. Nowadays, they're a bunch of corporate zombies who read liner notes. There's no question that radio content (or lack of) forced listeners to purchase iPods and satellite radios.

A shock jock is a radio show host who gets a rise out of listeners by broadcasting politically incorrect content. They tend to push the envelope of decency, and have heard the phrase "you've gone too far" more times than they can count. Shock jocks receive much of their criticism from special interest groups who find their particular program offensive. This form of radio is not new. Disk jockeys have attempted to shock their audience since the beginning, most notably with Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds" stunt.

Don Imus became somewhat of a pioneer when it comes to "shock jockery" back in the 1970s. Opie & Anthony have suffered through a couple of firings and a few fines, but they remain as "offensive" as ever. Perhaps the biggest shock jock of them all is Howard Stern. Howard has been fined more times than anyone for his suggestive content on his nationally syndicated program. He has since moved to Sirius Satellite Radio where there are no FCC guidelines to abide by.

This form of broadcasting had a run of 30+ years, beginning in the 1970s all the way until the early part of this decade. We all know where this is going. The Super Bowl XXXVIII Halftime show with Janet Jackson's exposed breast. I personally did not watch it live, and I really don't think two things about it. Anyways, in the wake of that fiasco, the FCC cracked down on "indecent programming". That means, if a show host broadcasts over-the-line content, they must be dealt with accordingly (fines, firings, license of station revoked).

Since then, the successful shock jocks of the past three decades have to look for new jobs. Some changed the entire outlook of their show. Others flocked to satellite or internet radio. Many just retired.

While special interest groups dance in the streets, radio has plummeted, mainly because the programming is garbage. Companies voice track DJs from other cities to make them sound local. Instead of a free-spirited morning show, jocks are forced to give weather and traffic reports, introduce pre-programmed songs, and give away junk prizes. All of that creativity isn't worth a damn in this business. As long as you play by the rules, you're buddy-buddy with the company.

The problem with radio is the fact that it's in every car, and each household owns about four radios total. Companies like Clear Channel and CBS think they can get away with terrible programming because radio will not go away.

Another issue regarding the demise of shock jocks is the fact that these "mighty and all powerful" broadcasting companies cater to the smallest of special interest groups. Not only CBS Radio, but MSNBC, a subsidiary of NBC, kowtowed to Al Sharpton and his insignificant group after Don Imus's "racist and sexist" remarks towards Rutgers' womens' basketball team.

Here's another thing to think about when it comes to shock jocks. They're all white. I've heard some offensive content on all-black stations, and the hosts openly admitted that they have a hatred toward white people. But shows like that are still on the air. Womens' shows spout off about how they are superior to men, but nothing is said. And why is that? Because big business is afraid of minorities and women for fear of being called bigoted. So they target white men who make jokes about pornography.

I salute those shock jocks who put their careers and the station's license at risk just to entertain their audience. Now that the content is horrendous, I look to other mediums to be entertained. I certainly hope radio executives can get it together and produce better programming, instead of hearing a jock from Tampa, Florida introduce the next Metallica song and tell me what the weather is like in my backyard.