Issues@Hand
AFA initiatives, Christian activism, news briefs
October 1998 – For months CBS has ignored the complaints of outraged Americans who did not want the corrupt antics of Howard Stern being given a nationwide platform. And as Stern’s new TV show was unveiled on August 22, CBS apparently got what it wanted: an hour full of strippers, lesbians kissing, nude women, and vulgar humor.
“CBS executives owe the American people an apology for embracing Stern and his sexual obsessions,”saidAFAVice President Tim Wildmon. “CBS has disgraced every community into which it has hustled Stern’s smut.”
The unholy matrimony between Stern and CBS was announced last April. The late-night Saturday TV show, called The Howard Stern Radio Show, was to be produced in association with CBS Television Stations Group,and marketed through CBS’s Eyemark Entertainment.
Initially the show was to air on 12 of the network’s 14 owned-and-operated stations, covering about 30% of the U.S. television market. When it was discovered that Eyemark would then give some 200 CBS affiliates first crack at picking up Stern in syndication, AFA began a campaign to implore the affiliates to reject the show.
Most of those local CBS affiliates (more than 97%) informed concerned citizens they would not be putting The Howard Stern Radio Show on the air. But Eyemark successfully pitched the show to other networks and independent stations, so that when Stern’s TV show first aired, an additional 40% of the nation’s television viewers were added.
Stern: “I’m embarrassed at who I am”
Oddly, when the show premiered, it was preceded by a parental advisory –“intended for adult audiences.” Ironically, it was rated TV14, rather than TVMA (for mature audiences).
That wasn’t a problem as far as Stern was concerned. On his August 18 radio program, Stern told a journalist he was not concerned at all if “a lot of impressionable younger viewers” saw his TV show. “[I]f a teenager sees my show, I can’t imagine what harm it would do them,”Stern said. That statement came after Stern said, “No, I would not have my kids watch anything I do.…I guess I’m embarrassed at who I am.…But anybody else’s kids, it’s fine for [watching].”
Even outside the Christian community the show was flogged. A Washington Post review said, “CBS made the face of broadcast TV uglier Saturday night”with Stern’s premiere. The NewYork Post said,“Someone help Howard Stern – the man is sick,” adding that the TV show was “appalling,” “pathetic,” and“represented the very worst of what he is.”ACNN reviewer summed up his opinion with one word: “Yecch.”
But even with that “yecch” factor, it is unclear just how well The Howard Stern Radio Show will do on Saturday nights based on its initial performance. Preliminary figures showed that 4.9%of the country’s TV homes watched the premiere, and Stern finished No. 1 in eight urban markets – including five with CBS-owned stations.
But Saturday Night Live (NBC) did better, seen by 6.4% of homes,scoring higher than it did at the same time last year. Stern even failed to siphon off viewers from Fox’s Mad TV, which was seen in about the same 4% of TV households as it was last summer. Even though Stern’s show can be seen by only 70% of the nation, Greg Baerg of Ultimate TV said it didn’t matter: “[I]t’s doubtful that even with that [disadvantage], his debut would have done much better.”
If the future of Stern’s show is unclear in the U.S., it has become crystal clear in Canada. CHUM Limited announced on August 26 that its Toronto TV station would not be airing The Howard Stern Radio Show as planned. Concerns over the expected content had already caused CHUM to postpone airing the show’s premiere.
In a statement explaining its decision, CHUM said, “It is clear that the television show will not meet those standards [called for by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council].” CHUM also said its Montreal radio station would dump Stern’s daily radio show for the same reasons.
Another Canadian TV station, ASN in Halifax,Nova Scotia, dropped Stern’s television show after the first show. Station managerMike Elgie said,“The content is objectionable.…it’s beneath our standards.”
Disney helps hoist Stern
Bill Johnson, coordinator for AFA’s Stern Project,said national advertising was a rare commodity for the Stern opener, but there were a few daring sponsors,including Sony, Heineken, VirginCola, andDisney/Miramax, which advertised its movie 54.
But while CBS was pushing the limits of television content with The Howard Stern Radio Show, some CBS stations also pushed the limits on advertising as well. In New York and Los Angeles CBS ran an advertisement for Lifestyles condoms, and the spot is expected to run on CBS-owned stations in Chicago and Boston in October, according to Advertising Age. Other CBS network affiliates and local stations may follow suit, the industry magazine also said.
On CBS in at least five major cities – New York, Boston, Baltimore, Los Angeles, and San Francisco – stations ran an ad for little-known Virgin Cola, featuring a wedding between two homosexual men. The spot shows the two men kissing, a first for commercials in the U.S.
Chili’s anti-Stern policy
Chili’s restaurants have a “strict policy against advertising on [Howard Stern’s] radio program, ”according to Chili’s Public Relations Manager Louis Adams.
Johnson had received no response from his letters to Chili’s corporate offices concerning the Chili’s commercials that were appearing on the Stern show. Subsequently, AFA listed Chili’s as a Stern advertiser in the September issue of the AFA Journal.
However, when he began receiving calls about those ads, Adams believed they were in error and contacted the Journal offices.
After investigating, Adams wrote, “We’ve learned that in two markets, individual radio stations played our commercials during the Stern program in error. Be assured that we’ve contacted those stations to reiterate our position of not allowing our commercials to air while Stern is on.”
“We commend Chili’s for establishing a responsible corporate policy, and for trying to make sure that it is carried out,”said Don Wildmon, AFA president.
Chili’s Restaurants, 6820 LBJ Freeway, Dallas, TX 75240, Phone: 972-980-9917. 
