FIRST OFF . . .

The nation’s broadcasters have been urged by the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission to tune out “shock radio” programs that use sexually and racially oriented humor to attract audiences. “We are not simply recorders, transmitters and antennas,” Alfred Sikes said at the National Assn. of Broadcasters’ radio convention in New Orleans. “We are what we broadcast.” Sikes, a former owner of several radio stations, said that the association should revive its programming code, dropped in the early 1980s as the result of a federal anti-trust lawsuit against provisions regarding commercials. Such standards should be drawn up by the industry without government pressure, said Sikes, who took over the FCC chair in August.