S.D. Broadcasters More Cautious Than Ever : Radio: Federal crackdown on indecency has station management keeping a closer eye on material of on-air personalities.

SAN DIEGO —  One local radio executive described the Federal Communications Commission’s recent crackdown on indecency and obscenity on radio as “a new form of McCarthyism.” Others say that may be too severe, but the commission’s new-found fervor for investigating complaints is having a chilling effect on radio programming throughout the country, including San Diego.

“Stations were a lot less fearful 10 years ago than one year ago,” said local morning personality Jeff Prescott.

Spurred by the same conservative movement that has sparked debate over the propriety of albums and arts funding, the FCC in the last two years has handed out thousands of dollars in fines to stations for airing (in the FCC’s opinion) indecent material, in sharp contrast to its laissez-faire attitude of the past.

The FCC issued only one penalty for indecent programming before 1987, according to an FCC spokesman. But, in the last three years, the commission has taken action against about 15 stations, enforcing an decency rule that has been on the books for more than 50 years. No San Diego stations, however, have been fined, but all are aware of the FCC’s recent stands.

One of first fines in the new era of enforcement was handed down to an L.A. station for airing a play called “The Jerker,” which “graphically depicted homosexual acts,” said Sandy Wilson, special assistant to the general counsel for the FCC. One station was fined for airing a routine describing how to masturbate a dog; another was fined for a routine about playing the piano with a penis. Fines generally range from $2,000 to $10,000.

“A change in the political climate led the FCC to enforce its policies more strictly,” said Wilson. “I don’t think it was something the FCC dreamed up. It was a combination of public and congressional inquiries.”

Some broadcasters agree that it is time for the FCC to become more active.

“The fact that the FCC is getting involved is correct,” said Paul Palmer, general manager of KFMB AM (760) and FM (B100). “They need to get involved to some degree to at least encourage broadcasters” to establish some guidelines.

“Radio is different from art in that we’re using the public airwaves, and that’s why we have a responsibility to the public.”

The FCC’s new interest in indecency comes at a time when the operating licenses for all San Diego radio stations are up for renewal. The one great fear all radio executives share is that the FCC will revoke their operating license, a station’s most valuable commodity. One thing guaranteed to never make a radio executive laugh is a joke about license revocation.

Until recently, the operating licenses for stations were reviewed every three years by the FCC. In the early ‘80s, a period of massive deregulation in the communications industry, the rule was changed to allow for license reviews every seven years.

Although the reviews are less frequent, and actual revocations extremely rare, the process is still harrowing for radio executives.

“When dealing with multimillion-dollar properties and large sums of money, there is a very large shadow standing behind us in the form of the FCC,” said KIFM (98.1) General Manager Bruce Walton.

One complaint can spark the FCC into action, maybe even hold up the renewal of a station’s license.

“Owners of radio stations are very conservative people,” said Prescott., half of the “Berger and Prescott” team on XTRA-FM (91X). “They don’t want to lose their license. Everybody sees what’s happening, and it makes them scared.”

In recent years, when Prescott and partner Mike Berger were with KGB-FM (101.5), management asked them to “tone down” parts of their act, specifically to stop playing certain parody songs, in the wake of FCC fines levied against other stations. “The Candywrapper Song,” the “Rodeo Song” and “The Pubic Hair Song,” each full of sexual innuendo, were axed from their morning play list.

Earlier this year, Berger and Prescott moved from KGB to XTRA-FM (91X), which is licensed by the Mexican government and not regulated by the FCC. Perhaps it’s simply the attitude of a different management team, but at 91X the pair play many of the songs they didn’t play at KGB, and perform material rarely heard on San Diego-based stations. One of their recent routines focused on teen-age pubic hair.

KGB management was “uncomfortable” with some of their routines because of the fines being issued by the FCC, Prescott said.

“We don’t think (the “Candywrapper Song”) is obscene,” Prescott said. “Yeah, it’s (sexually) suggestive, but the bottom line is, it’s one of my most requested songs.”

KGB General Manager Tom Baker said every station manager has to be cautious because of the FCC’s recent actions.

“One of my jobs as general manager is to protect the station’s license,” Baker said. “If I do something that goes against the regulatory group, then I’m doing something wrong.”

By any standards, San Diego is a conservative radio market. There is nothing on the air in San Diego even close to the aggressive “Mark and Brian Show” on KLOS-FM in Los Angeles, or Howard Stern, the New York disc jockey known as the king of the shock jocks. Stern has become one of the most popular radio figures in the country with his risque routines and incessantly insulting demeanor. Women and ethnic groups are among his favorite targets.

In recent years, the closest thing to shock jocks in San Diego was the team of Jack Murphy and Terrence McKeever, who were the morning stars for KKLQ (Q106) until last year. They were constantly pushing the boundaries, calling people names, phoning people on the air and generally establishing their own definition of taste.

Murphy was fired last year, followed shortly thereafter by McKeever’s resignation. Although the station said the pair’s material had nothing to do with their departure, their replacement, John Murphy, is noticeably kinder and gentler.

“What always occurred to me at first when I heard something Jack and Terry did was how many listeners were offended,” station General Manager Bob Bolinger said. “If you offend people on a consistent basis, I think you lose listeners, especially in San Diego.”

For better or worse, though, audiences often respond to the outrageous.

“We have gotta do stuff that makes people stop and say, ‘I can’t believe they did that,’ ” Prescott said.

In some ways, the indecency crackdown is a counter to the extreme disc jockeys such as Stern.

“The problem is there are stations out there willing to push the limits for ratings,” said Wilson of the FCC.

In the last three years, the FCC has reviewed more than 100 complaints, dismissing the vast majority of them. The FCC defines indecent programming as language that describes in “patently offensive” terms sexual or excretory acts.

Wilson said the FCC’s policies are designed to protect children, not adults.

“We tend to err on the side of caution,” Wilson said. “It’s not soap opera stuff or the occasional four-letter word that we’re looking for. It’s the really offensive material.”

The degree to which the FCC should be involved is the popular debate these days in the industry. Many complain that the FCC’s enforcement is arbitrary. One letter of complaint about a station can result in a station being fined for airing material carried by other stations. A Detroit station was fined $2,000 for playing a parody song, “Walk With an Erection,” which dozens of stations have aired through the years.

“It seems like what the FCC is saying is that all you have to do is be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Greg Stevens, program director of KGMG-FM (Magic 102).

Stevens is part of Magic 102’s morning show, the “Rude Boys.” But, even for San Diego, they are not very rude, Stevens admitted, in the sense that they don’t delve into anything that is remotely indecent.

When the FCC began handing out fines, Magic 102 personnel had meetings with lawyers to discuss the FCC’s new parameters. Like most stations, Magic 102 makes extra sure these days to handle complaints as succinctly and completely as possible. No complaint is ignored.

“We do a more thorough job of taping what we broadcast,” making sure a recording exists of any controversial bits, Stevens said.

For many years, stations worked under the assumption that the only thing they couldn’t do on the air was to use the “seven dirty words,” immortalized in a George Carlin comedy routine. Now “the guidelines are so murky it’s difficult to say what is acceptable and what is not,” Baker said. “I think for somebody to tell us what we can and can’t do is offensive.

“Who decides what should be censored? That’s the tough one.”

Broadcasters generally agree that the industry should regulate itself. They argue that listenership is the ultimate way of establishing “community standards.” If a station is well-rated, they say, it is a clear indication that the community has an interest in the programming. Conversely, many of the Stern imitators and shock jocks fail not because of FCC regulations but because few listen to their shows.

“Nobody is ever forced to listen to something that offends them,” said Stevens of Magic 102. “There is a difference in what the FCC says is in the public interest and what the public is interested in.”