SHOCK RADIO A TUNE-OUT IN S.D.

Local radio programmers aren’t worried that San Diego might become the next battlefield in the Federal Communication Commission’s escalating war on shock radio.

Opening salvos in that war were fired two weeks ago, when Howard Stern, New York’s notorious blue-tongued deejay, was warned by the FCC to tone down his language, and Los Angeles public radio station KPFK-FM was threatened with criminal prosecution for airing a play about AIDS that included some graphic descriptions of sexual acts.

But in San Diego, the federal regulatory agency had nothing to do with Randy Miller’s recent flight from Top 40 station KSDO-FM (KS103). Instead, the controversial morning deejay left town because of listener complaints--and steadily worsening ratings.

“Our experience with Randy showed us that shock radio just doesn’t fly in San Diego,” said Chris Conway, KS103’s general manager. “And we didn’t need the FCC to tell us that--the people did.

“In New York, where half the town walks around with a snarl, it’s a different story. An outrageous jock like Howard Stern is simply saying things many New Yorkers would like to say themselves, if they had the chance.”

“But in San Diego, the mood is different. This is a happy, contented place to be. So shock radio, at best, is of short-term interest, because it quickly becomes predictable.”

Other local programmers agree that, in San Diego, listeners are likely to tune out potentially offensive material long before the FCC would feel obligated to intervene.

“Radio stations tend to reflect the life styles of the people who listen to them,” said Ted Edwards, program director of album-oriented rock (AOR) station KGB-FM (101.5). “Aggressive radio might work elsewhere in the country, but it’s never worked here.”

“In San Diego, good taste leads to popularity,” added Bobby Rich, program director and morning air personality on adult contemporary (A/C) station KFMB-FM (B-100). “So by being reasonably cautious and intelligent about how far we go, we’ve been able to achieve success.”

Gary Wall, program director of Top 40 combo KKLQ-AM/FM (600/106.5), shares Rich’s views. “We police ourselves,” he said. “We like to feel our personal tastes, and the tastes of our listeners, are above the law’s.”

Still, even though San Diego radio is a lot tamer than in cities like New York and Los Angeles, local programmers are staunchly opposed to the FCC’s crackdown on shock radio.

“I think it’s dangerous any time the government starts telling people what to say or how to say it,” said Jack Merker, program director of news-talk station KSDO-AM (1130). “To me, that’s a violation of the First Amendment.”

“In a lot of ways, I think people are overreacting,” added Jim LaMarca, program director of oldies station XTRA-AM (69 XTRA Gold). “Howard Stern is an extreme, but most of these so-called ‘shock jocks,’ like Randy Miller and Jay Thomas in Los Angeles, aren’t doing anything more dramatic than deejays 15 years ago were doing.

“They’re simply getting more notoriety, so the government is sticking its hand into it.”

Particularly upsetting to Rich is that radio stations are being singled out.

“It’s unfortunate that the government finds it necessary to regulate radio, while the print medium, for example, isn’t regulated at all,” he said.

“In terms of accessibility to the public, radio is no different from print--yet newspapers and magazines can print whatever they want.”

KGB’s Edwards agrees. “If you watch television on an average night, there are more sexual innuendoes than on any of Howard Stern’s shows,” Edwards said. “But for some reason, that seems to be appropriate, while on the radio, it’s not.”

Last year, KGB carried an edited version of Howard Stern’s show the entire 16 weeks it was syndicated nationally, Edwards said. Should the program be made available again, he added, he would not hesitate to pick it up, regardless of the FCC’s reaction.

“Even though it’s been off the air for a year, we still get calls from people wondering whatever happened to Howard,” Edwards said.

“And as long as the show isn’t overly offensive, I kind of feel their tastes should be served.”