A clean-air initiative from Clear Channel

A day after firing Florida radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge for indecent material, Clear Channel Communications on Wednesday announced a strict new decency initiative promising that programming aired by its more than 1,200 radio stations will conform to local community standards.

“Clear Channel is serious about helping address the rising tide of indecency on the airwaves,” Clear Channel president and chief operating officer Mark Mays said in a statement announcing the “responsible broadcasting initiative.”

Mays added, “We are fully responsible for what our stations air, and we intend to make sure all our DJs and programmers understand what is and what is not appropriate on Clear Channel radio shows.”

The San Antonio-based media company, which owns KFI-AM (640), KIIS-FM (102.7) and KYSR-FM (Star 98.7) among other stations in Los Angeles, will establish a “zero-tolerance” policy for on-air personalities, Mays said: “If the [Federal Communications Commission] accuses us of wrongdoing by issuing a proposed fine, we will take immediate action. We will suspend the DJ in question and perform a swift investigation. If we or the government ultimately determine the offending broadcast is indecent, the DJ will be terminated.”

The decrees follow the firing on Tuesday of Bubba the Love Sponge, whose raunchy morning-show routines prompted a proposed $755,000 fine from the FCC last month.

John Hogan, chief executive of Clear Channel Radio, said he supported the decision of the local managers of WXTB-FM in Tampa in severing the station’s contract with the talk-show host, whose name was Todd Clem before he legally changed it to Bubba the Love Sponge.

Hogan also said that all current and future contracts with on-air personalities are being modified to ensure that DJs share financial responsibility if they allow indecent material on the air.

Last week, Infinity Radio instituted a similar zero-tolerance policy for its radio stations, which include KROQ-FM (106.7) and KLSX-FM (97.1).