Top 10: Radio Shock Jocks
Top 10: Radio Shock Jocks
By Ryan Murphy
Whatever happened to political correctness? Nearly two decades after liberals tried to make the world a friendlier and more tolerant place to inhabit, our airwaves are still full of offensive rhetoric and rants. Try as it may, the Federal Communication Commission can do little to curb the tendencies of radio personalities like Howard Stern and Tom Leykis, two men who continue to make millions of dollars a year thanks to their ability to simultaneously provoke and entertain.
And they're not alone. With the advent of uncensored satellite radio, shock jocks are now more pervasive -- and perverse -- than ever. Turn down your dial as we take a look at the top 10 in the business.
Number 10 - Steve Dahl
The granddaddy of Chicago radio, Steve Dahl has been on the air for 30 years and can currently be heard on Chi-Town's WCKG. During that time, he's had marquee guests like John Belushi, Eric Idle and Jamie Kennedy in his studio, and he created a minor stir when he broadcast live from his hospital room during his vasectomy. More recently, Dahl managed to offend thousands of listeners in September 2005 when he talked about creating a cocktail from the floating corpses in New Orleans.
Most outrageous moment: Dahl and fellow DJ Garry Meier were responsible for creating Disco Demolition Night, a special promotion held at Chicago's Comiskey Park on July 12, 1979 following a game between the White Sox and the visiting Detroit Tigers. The resulting riot was so destructive that Dahl wasn't invited back to the park until two decades later.
Number 9 - Ron and Fez
The Ron and Fez Show is broadcast daily on XM Satellite Radio and stars Ron Bennington and Fez "Marie" Whatley. Known for their razor-sharp wit, they draw upon their backgrounds as professional comedians to create an entire universe of characters like Crazy Mary, Foul Mouth Elmo and Retard Martin. Although not as abrasive as some of their counterparts, Ron and Fez still manage to offend their own fair share of listeners thanks to their sophomoric pranks and frequently scatalogical humor.
Most outrageous moment: The show used to feature a regular caller named Joe Poo, a character who ate his own feces. Over time, Joe Poo inevitably spawned Joe Pee, a young child who drank his own urine.
Number 8 - Mike Church
Mention church and most people think of a quiet place to pray and reflect. Mention Mike Church, on the other hand, and most people think of the devil's spawn. Known as the "American Badass of Talk Radio," the abrasive good ol' boy can be heard on Sirius Satellite Radio (his was the network's first exclusive talk program), where he prides himself on giving his listeners a conservative jolt by ripping apart liberalism and those who uphold it. In January of 2006, Church released the CD unAmerican Idiots.
Most outrageous moment: Church has been targeted by the Southern Anti-Defamation League since 1999 when he referred to the South as the "land of the free, mobile home of the brave."
Number 7 - Bubba the Love Sponge
Born Todd Clem, Bubba the Love Sponge is a 20-year radio veteran whose eponymous show can be heard on Sirius Radio. Listeners of the program can look forward to his no-nonsense take on federal politics, as well as regular lowbrow features like "No Panties Thursday." Not surprisingly, the edgy, brash and frequently controversial DJ was dropped by Clear Channel Communications on February 24, 2004 after the FCC issued a Notice of Apparent Liability of $755,000 for complaints about the titillating and shocking nature of his broadcasts.
Most outrageous moment: Bubba was arrested in 2001 on charges of animal cruelty after he and two hunters slaughtered a live pig on air.
Number 6 - Liz Wilde
Considered by some to be the female Howard Stern, Liz Wilde's brash, uncensored views can be heard daily on WRXK in Fort Myers, Florida. The big-breasted bottle blonde is especially known for being unabashedly raunchy, as evidenced by her "Blow It Out Yer Ass" Fridays, during which graphic sexual content is discussed and dissected. Over the past number of years, her program has also featured a notoriously insensitive character named Mickey the Irish Prick, as well as the odd instance of men vomiting on interns.
Most outrageous moment: One of Wilde's regulars is Shecky "Bates" Greene, a guest who routinely gets sex workers to perform degrading acts on air.
Number 5 - Alan Jones
Alan Jones isn't just Australia's most popular talk-show host, he's also its reigning bad boy. This former national rugby team coach can be heard spewing his often harsh and ill-tempered views daily on radio station 2GB. Much to the delight of his detractors, those views -- as well as his personal actions -- have gotten him into a heap of trouble over the years. He has been fined for defaming local politicians, charged with racism for insulting aboriginals and accused of accepting bribes in the country's "Cash for Comment" scandal.
Most outrageous moment: Jones was widely denounced last year for reading an inflammatory text message promoting vigilantism. Many believe the message, as well as his comments, were factors in the bloody race riot that followed.
Number 4 - Opie and Anthony
To their mothers, they're Gregg Hughes and Anthony Cumia, but to the world, they're Opie and Anthony -- the hosts of the phenomenally popular XM Satellite Radio program, The Opie and Anthony Show. The pair has been spinning its unique brand of humor and spot-on impressions since 1994 when Cumia became a regular guest on Hughes' show after winning a song contest.
Over the years, the top-ranked show has also featured regular celebrity guests such as Colin Quinn, Jay Mohr and Jim Norton. Despite their massive following, they were cancelled in August of 2002 after promoting a contest called "Sex For Sam 3," in which listeners were encouraged to have sex in well-known landmarks. Since their employer didn't have enough evidence to fire them, Hughes and Cumia were forced to wait an excruciating two years for their contract to expire before they could return to the airwaves.
Most outrageous moment: Opie and Anthony were unceremoniously booted off the air in 1998 after orchestrating an elborate April Fool's Day joke in which they claimed Boston mayor Thomas Menino had been killed in a fiery car crash.
Number 3 - Howard Stern
For well over a decade, Howard Stern has been the nation's leading shock jock. Over that span of time, the self-proclaimed "King of All Media" has offended nearly every racial, religious and ethnic group on the planet with his scatological, misogynistic and often mean-spirited rants. He's been fined for graphically discussing his sexual practices, he got yanked off the air in Canada for his anti-French comments and he had porn star Mary Carey clean his toilet with her hair after failing an IQ test.
And yet, there's no denying his appeal. Despite the fact that advocacy groups like the American Decency Association routinely send 1,000 letters a month to local, regional and national advertisers of his show, his daily broadcasts still draw in millions of listeners. In fact, he was rewarded with a five-year, $500 million deal by Sirius Radio on October 6, 2004.
Most outrageous moment: The FCC fined Infinity Broadcasting $600,000 in 1992 after Stern talked about pleasuring himself to a picture of Aunt Jemima. Stern claimed at the time it was the closest he had ever come to having sex with a black woman.
Number 2 - Tom Leykis
Acerbic Bronx native Tom Leykis is the "brains" behind The Tom Leykis Show, a nationally syndicated radio program broadcast daily from the Westwood One studios in Culver City. Heavily skewed toward a male audience, the show has regular segments such as "Flash Fridays," in which female listeners are encouraged to flash their breasts at passing motorists, and "Leykis 101," in which "The Professor" shares his generally chauvinistic views on dating and male-female relations. A four-time divorcee, Leykis adamantly believes young men should hold onto their freedom at all costs, even if it means having to stay uncommited. Not surprisingly, "Dump that bitch" has become one of the show's most popular catchphrases.
Most outrageous moment: Leykis caused considerable controversy in 2003 when he revealed the name of the woman who had accused basketball star Kobe Bryant of rape. Until that time, media outlets had been withholding details out of respect for the vicitim.
Number 1 - Mancow
Chicago radio personality Mathew Erich "Mancow" Muller is among the FCC's worst nightmares. The flippant shock jock has been ruffling the Fed's feathers for nearly 15 years with his over-the-top drug- and alcohol-themed humor. During that time, he and cohorts like "Turd" and "Prison B*tch" have led listeners through a humiliating array of stunts such as eating cat food on the air. He also memorably faked his own death in 1996 in a bewildering incident that left many listeners confused and feeling betrayed. Mancow is currently engaged in a heated rivalry with Howard Stern after the "King of All Media" made disparaging remarks about Mancow's father immediately following his death.
Most outrageous moment: Mancow made headlines in 1993 when he used vans to block the westbound lanes of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge during rush hour while his sidekick had his hair cut. Mancow was later given three years probation and was ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. You can read more about that and other sordid tales in his 2003 semi-autobiographical book Dad, Dames, Demons, and a Dwarf.
Pump up the volume
How low can you go? From slaughtering pigs on air to subjecting guests to degrading acts, shock jocks have broken nearly every taboo imaginable. Will the time come when, in a quest for higher ratings and bigger advertisers, someone finally goes too far? Tune in and find out. The FCC certainly plans to.
Resources:
www.en.wikipedia.org
www.dahl.com
www.ronfez.net
