Stern Show to Draw Another Complaint to FCC

Al Westcott, the self-styled crusader against indecency on the airwaves, today plans to file another detailed complaint with the Federal Communications Commission against Howard Stern’s popular radio program.

It was an earlier complaint by Westcott that led the regulatory agency last month to issue a record $105,000 fine against KLSX-FM (97.1) in Los Angeles for what it deemed indecent comments on Stern’s syndicated show.

Westcott, who lives in Las Vegas, will hold a press conference there to announce the filing of a complaint against Las Vegas station KUDA-FM, citing 70 instances of what Westcott calls “indecent statements, scenarios and song parodies” broadcast on Stern’s show during the first five days that he was on the air in that city, from Nov. 9 to Nov. 13.

In the latest complaint, Westcott maintains that there is a likelihood that children were in the audience to hear the bawdy material, which he said included references to sex acts, the size of women’s breasts, foul language and discussion of male and female genitalia.

Westcott alleges that the broadcast of such material violated the FCC’s “safe harbor” rule, which prohibits airing indecent material between the hours of 6 a.m and 8 p.m. out of concern that children may be listening. Stern’s show is heard between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m. in Las Vegas and in nine other cities around the country.

The FCC cited the “safe harbor” rule as part of its explanation for the Oct. 27 fine against Greater Media Inc., the company that owns KLSX-FM. Tom Milewski, executive vice president of Greater Media, said Thursday that the company is still reviewing its response to the commission.

Meanwhile, the FCC is considering whether to levy fines against three radio stations owned by Infinity Broadcasting Corp., which broadcast the same shows last year that were cited in the KLSX case. Infinity has been fined twice before for indecency in conjunction with the Stern show, but has challenged the FCC’s findings and refused to pay.

“Some could say this is a personal vendetta, some could say it’s a crusade,” Westcott said in a telephone interview Thursday. “I prefer to say I found something offensive and I’m committed to clean up the airwaves from people like Howard Stern. . . . Some people could look at it as if I’m targeting Howard Stern. He’s just the most obvious, the most far-reaching and the most popular of the disc jockeys.”