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 SEPARATE  STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  MICHAEL  J.  COPPS, 
 DISSENTING 
 Re:  Clear  Channel  Broadcasting  Licenses,  Inc.,  Licensee  of  Stations  WPLA(  FM),  Callahan,  Florida,  and  WCKT(  FM),  Port  Charlotte,  Florida  (Formerly  Station  WRLR(  FM));  Citicasters 
 Licenses,  L.  P.,  Licensee  of  Station  WXTB(  FM),  Clearwater,  Florida;  Capstar  TX  Limited  Partnership,  Licensee  of  Station  WRLX(  FM),  West  Palm  Beach,  Florida,  Notice  of  Apparent 
 Liability  for  Forfeiture 
 In  this  case,  four  Clear  Channel  stations  aired  on  several  occasions  graphic  and  explicit  sexual  content  as  entertainment.  The  extreme  nature  of  these  broadcasts  and  the  fact  that  the 
 show  at  issue  has  been  the  subject  of  repeated  indecency  actions  gives  the  FCC  the  obligation  to  take  serious  action.  Instead,  the  majority  proposes  a  mere  $27,500  fine  for  each  incident.  Such  a 
 fine  will  be  easily  absorbed  as  a  “cost  of  doing  business”  and  fails  to  send  a  message  that  the  Commission  is  serious  about  enforcing  the  nation’s  indecency  laws.  “Cost  of  doing  business 
 fines”  are  never  going  to  stop  the  media’s  slide  to  the  bottom. 
 To  fulfill  our  duty  under  the  law,  I  believe  the  Commission  should  have  designated  these  cases  for  a  hearing  on  the  revocation  of  these  stations’  licenses,  as  provided  for  by  Section 
 312(  a)(  6)  of  the  Communications  Act.  I  am  discouraged  that  my  colleagues  would  not  join  me  in  taking  a  firm  stand  against  indecency  on  the  airwaves. 


 If  the  Commission  can’t  bring  itself  to  go  to  a  revocation  hearing,  at  least  the  Commission  should  have  used  its  current  statutory  authority  to  impose  a  higher  and  meaningful 
 fine.  The  Commission  could  have  proposed  a  fine  for  each  separate  “utterance”  that  was  indecent,  rather  than  one  fine  for  each  lengthy  segment.  As  Commissioner  Martin  points  out, 
 such  an  approach  would  have  led  to  a  significantly  higher  fine. 
 Here,  four  Clear  Channel  stations  ran  several  segments  of  the  “Bubba  the  Love  Sponge”  show  which  contained  graphic  and  explicit  sexual  content.  The  majority  admits  that  each  of  these 
 stations  appears  to  have  egregiously  and  extensively  violated  the  statutory  ban  on  broadcast  of  indecent  material  numerous  times.  But  then  the  majority  inexplicably  determines  that  the 
 appropriate  recourse  for  this  filth  is  a  $27,500  fine  for  each  violation. 
 The  majority  states  that,  in  light  of  Clear  Channel’s  history  of  violations  of  the  indecency  rules,  other  serious  multiple  violations  “may  well  lead  to  license  revocation  proceedings.”  The 
 majority  fails  to  acknowledge  that  not  just  Clear  Channel,  but  the  “Bubba  the  Love  Sponge”  show,  has  been  the  subject  of  at  least  three  previous  fines  for  violating  our  nation’s  indecency 
 laws.  This  is  not  even  “three  strikes  and  you  are  out”  enforcement.  How  many  strikes  are  we  going  to  give  them? 


 This  case  may  well  lead  broadcasters  to  believe  that  this  Commission  will  never  use  the  enforcement  authority  it  currently  has  available  to  it.  The  message  to  licensees  is  clear.  Even 
 egregious  repeated  violations  will  not  result  in  revocation  of  a  license.  Rather,  they  will  result  only  in  a  financial  penalty  that  is  merely  a  cost  of  doing  business. 


 The  time  has  come  for  this  Commission  to  take  a  firm  stand  against  the  “race  to  the  bottom”  as  the  level  of  discourse  on  the  public’s  airwaves  gets  progressively  coarser  and  more 
 violent.  Our  enforcement  actions  should  convince  broadcasters  that  they  cannot  ignore  their 
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 responsibility  to  serve  the  public  interest  and  to  protect  children.  The  FCC’s  action  today  fails  to  do  so. 
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