I haven't seen/heard what the said/did to get suspended yet, that's my next stop.

http://xmradio.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=press_releases&item=1452


XM Radio Suspends Opie & Anthony

WASHINGTON and NEW YORK, May 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- XM Radio announced today that the company has suspended Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia, hosts of "The Opie & Anthony Show" and ceased broadcast of the show for 30 days, effective immediately.

XM Radio deplored the comments aired on "The Opie & Anthony Show" last week. At the time, the company strongly expressed its views to Opie and Anthony, and they issued an immediate apology.

Comments made by Opie and Anthony on yesterday's broadcast put into question whether they appreciate the seriousness of the matter. The management of XM Radio decided to suspend Opie and Anthony to make clear that our on-air talent must take seriously the responsibility that creative freedom requires of them.

As a company, XM provides customers with tools to control what they listen to on XM. "The Opie & Anthony Show" appears on one of XM's explicit language channels (XL). Whenever a radio is tuned to an explicit language channel, the letters "XL" continuously appear on the screen. XM frequently mentions on its explicit language channels that the content may be inappropriate for certain listeners and tells how to "block" channels that feature this type of content. Channel blocking is available through xmradio.com or by calling 1-800-XMRADIO.

Ahh, Imus backlash.

http://www.radioink.com/HeadlineEntry.asp?hid=137912&pt=todaysnews


XM’s O&A Are Over & Out...For Now

XM Satellite Radio announced Tuesday (May 15) that they’ve suspended the “Opie & Anthony Show” for 30 days, effective immediately.

XM was not happy about comments aired on the “Opie & Anthony Show" last week when a guest of the show known as “Homeless Charlie” said he'd like to have sex with Condoleezza Rice, Laura Bush and Queen Elizabeth. The comments got more outrageous from there and included a description of the secretary of state being punched in the face while having sex with Charlie.

At the time, XM let it be known that they were not amused, and Opie and Anthony issued an apology. But XM questioned whether O&A realized “the seriousness of the matter,” and XM management decided to suspend Opie and Anthony “to make clear that our on-air talent must take seriously the responsibility that creative freedom requires of them.”

Here's another one, totally unrelated.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070515/ennew_afp/usmediaasiaracism_070515035242&printer=1;_ylt=ArfBkL.3xF2mc22z2k_O_XbLOrgF


Two New York radio hosts fired for Asian slur

Mon May 14, 11:52 PM ET

The CBS network has fired two "shock jocks" over an on-air slur against Asians, US media reported Monday, weeks after another radio host was sacked for making a racist remark.

The hosts of "The Dog House with JV and Elvis," Jeff Vandergrift and Dan Lay, had been suspended earlier as the broadcaster decided their fate.

The show was permanently canceled after the two placed an on-air order to a Chinese restaurant for "slimp flied lice" and compared food items to certain parts of the body on April 5.

"'The Dog House with JV and Elvis' will no longer be broadcast," CBS Radio spokeswoman Karen Mateo told the New York Daily News.

After the prank call was broadcast, the Organization of Chinese Americans, an advocacy group, had blasted the network and demanded CBS fire the hosts.

The move came after Don Imus, who had enjoyed a large national audience for his radio and television program, was fired after he called the Rutgers university women's basketball team "nappy-headed ho's," nappy referring to the tight hair of many African-Americans and ho, as street talk for "whore."

"In the wake of the Imus case, it would have been maddening to the community if these idiots did not get fired," Queens City Councilman John Liu told the New York daily.

I don't think this is Imus backlash as much as "XM/Sirius merger" backlash. They want federal regulators to approve the merger, so they don't want shock jocks saying "I'd fuck that bitch and punch her in the face" about Condi Rice while the merger stuff is in progress.

Maybe, but I think we may be witnessing the end of "shock jocks" in general. Corporate Broadcast America is just too sensitive to PC and/or advertiser backlash for this stuff to continue.

If they can't even survive on satellite, then there isn't a place for them anymore, IMO.

But that XM/Sirius merger observation is a good one.