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Tampa Bay Business Journal-FCC forces another Tampa radio firing

R

robk

Guest
http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2006/03/13/daily62.html

FCC forces another Tampa radio firing



Tampa Bay Business Journal - 2:54 PM EST Thursday

The morning-drive radio woes continue for 98Rock. The station pulled its latest host off the air over an incident that caught the attention of the Federal Communications Commission.

WXTB-FM 97.9 abruptly canceled its "Cowhead Morning Show" this week after station owner Clear Channel Communications was reportedly fined by the FCC over an unspecified utterance that was deemed offensive.

Cowhead, whose real name is Mike Calta, previously worked at 98Rock as a producer for the Bubba the Love Sponge program during the late 1990s. Bubba was fired in February 2004 amid a record $1.75 million in FCC indecency fines brought against Clear Channel stations nationwide.

WXTB executives tried various morning-drive replacements over the past two years, including the Orlando-based "Monsters in the Morning" program and a popular Cincinnati nighttime radio host nicknamed "Puddin." Yet those ratings never matched the success of Bubba, who is still based in the Tampa Bay area and broadcasts on Sirius satellite radio.

In January, Cowhead was rehired by 98Rock after his previous employer, CBS Radio-owned WYUU-FM 92.5, changed to its "La Nueva" Spanish-language format last year.

No specifics were offered by the FCC regarding radio offenses committed by Cowhead, though some observers speculate they might have involved a reference to oral sex or an utterance of a profanity by a guest on his show.

Dan DiLoreto, general manager at WXTB and several other Clear Channel stations in Tampa, did not return a telephone call seeking comment Thursday. References to Cowhead's show were removed from 98Rock's Web site.

Meanwhile, Cowhead has yet to update his personal Web site on MySpace.com, which continued to promote his 98Rock program Thursday. Efforts to reach him have been unsuccessful.
 
This is just absurd. Jeez, he was only on the air at 98Rock for just a few months and gets the boot? The poor guy can't get a break! Cowhead, you rule. Keep us posted, brother. Wherever you wind up, I'll be there to tune in. Even if I have to fork over money to buy a satellite radio. But next time, bring back Brently.

p.s. Hey, the SportsChix (former Hooters On The Radio girls) are looking for work... perhaps 98rock can hire them? They're all that's left in this pitiful market.
 
What the? The FCC cant even say what he did but fines him anyways. It wasn't even clear about what he had done. This is really just stupid. Cowhead needs to maybe seek some work with Howard Stern and Bubba over at Sirius. This is just I dont even have words to describe this. FCC needs to lighten up a bit. There isnt much else good on morning drive. I went back and forth between 98Rock and 97X in the morning and looks like now i'll be sticking to 97X. Cowhead man keep up the good work wherever you go. Your a kick ass radio personality. Maybe 102.5 The Bone will hire you for morning drive.

> This is just absurd. Jeez, he was only on the air at 98Rock
> for just a few months and gets the boot? The poor guy can't
> get a break! Cowhead, you rule. Keep us posted, brother.
> Wherever you wind up, I'll be there to tune in. Even if I
> have to fork over money to buy a satellite radio. But next
> time, bring back Brently.
>
> p.s. Hey, the SportsChix (former Hooters On The Radio
> girls) are looking for work... perhaps 98rock can hire
> them? They're all that's left in this pitiful market.
>
 
> What the? The FCC cant even say what he did but fines him
> anyways. It wasn't even clear about what he had done. This
> is really just stupid. Cowhead needs to maybe seek some work
> with Howard Stern and Bubba over at Sirius. This is just I
> dont even have words to describe this. FCC needs to lighten
> up a bit. There isnt much else good on morning drive. I went
> back and forth between 98Rock and 97X in the morning and
> looks like now i'll be sticking to 97X. Cowhead man keep up
> the good work wherever you go. Your a kick ass radio
> personality. Maybe 102.5 The Bone will hire you for morning
> drive.
>
> > This is just absurd. Jeez, he was only on the air at
> 98Rock
> > for just a few months and gets the boot? The poor guy
> can't
> > get a break! Cowhead, you rule. Keep us posted, brother.
>
> > Wherever you wind up, I'll be there to tune in. Even if I
>
> > have to fork over money to buy a satellite radio. But
> next
> > time, bring back Brently.
> >
> > p.s. Hey, the SportsChix (former Hooters On The Radio
> > girls) are looking for work... perhaps 98rock can hire
> > them? They're all that's left in this pitiful market.
> >

This works out just perfect for Clear Channel. They can blow up MIX for Spanish and move Nancy and Mike to mornings on Rock 98. Now thats a match if I ever saw one. I'm sure they won't skip a beat. On another note, maybe Cox radio has the answer to profanity over the air. NO jocks mean no profanity or any words to offend the FCC. The night guy on the Dove has never been fined.
At least Puddin had the decency to keep Phred Phelps and his band of bullies out of town. And Puddin had the right idea in lampooning that genious in Hillsborough, "Help me Rhonda" Storms. I guess no jocks are the ultimate answer for the FCC. Silence all opinions and dissent, mature or childish.
Although I don't really care for the music on Rock 98, I find the actions of the FCC threatening to our way of life and the Constitution.
This whole thing is disgusting.
 
The FCC obviously has a lot of time on their hands or someone really has it out for WXTB. Now, don't get me wrong, I think Cowhead is great and was all for his hiring at 98 Rock. BUT... dude, you know the rules and where that line was drawn 2 years ago. You got the shot you wanted in Tampa Bay after all the years of bouncing around at Infinity. Whatever was said or done, was obviously very near or went over that line. In my opinion, that was a pretty stupid chance to take knowing the history of this station and what's occured not only with Bubba but the Monsters as well (remember the "sensitivity training"?) in the last 2 years. Sorry buddy...
 
NO FCC

The Tampa Bay Business Journal gave the wrong impression. This has nothing to do with the FCC. The FCC did not comment because they have nothing. I have not been fined, warned or anything like that. This is strictly an internal CC issue. I would love to spill my guts on everything, but at this time I have not even been fired yet.
And to clear this up...again...when the chick on the air dropped the F Bomb and it went out over the air, I dumped that. I was then approached by Brian Medlin after the show who let me know that it went out, and when Spice and I told him we both dumped it, he checked with John McMartin in engineering. After checking some equipment McMartin notified him that it was an engineering error and that not only had the dump not worked that day, but that it had not worked all week because of something they forgot to do in engineering. Anything I dumped did NOT GET DUMPED because of an admitted engineering problem.

-Cowhead
www.cowheadshow.com


> The FCC obviously has a lot of time on their hands or
> someone really has it out for WXTB. Now, don't get me
> wrong, I think Cowhead is great and was all for his hiring
> at 98 Rock. BUT... dude, you know the rules and where that
> line was drawn 2 years ago. You got the shot you wanted in
> Tampa Bay after all the years of bouncing around at
> Infinity. Whatever was said or done, was obviously very
> near or went over that line. In my opinion, that was a
> pretty stupid chance to take knowing the history of this
> station and what's occured not only with Bubba but the
> Monsters as well (remember the "sensitivity training"?) in
> the last 2 years. Sorry buddy...
>
 
Re: What then?

Yo Cow~~ I just heard :(
Whatta bummer!
I wish you could spill too.... keep us (me) posted, eh?
dawnzig


> The Tampa Bay Business Journal gave the wrong impression.
> This has nothing to do with the FCC. The FCC did not comment
> because they have nothing. I have not been fined, warned or
> anything like that. This is strictly an internal CC issue. I
> would love to spill my guts on everything, but at this time
> I have not even been fired yet.
> And to clear this up...again...when the chick on the air
> dropped the F Bomb and it went out over the air, I dumped
> that. I was then approached by Brian Medlin after the show
> who let me know that it went out, and when Spice and I told
> him we both dumped it, he checked with John McMartin in
> engineering. After checking some equipment McMartin notified
> him that it was an engineering error and that not only had
> the dump not worked that day, but that it had not worked all
> week because of something they forgot to do in engineering.
> Anything I dumped did NOT GET DUMPED because of an admitted
> engineering problem.
>
> -Cowhead
> www.cowheadshow.com
>
>
 
Gotta be more

I am sorry this has happened, but I am getting a "redflag" here. There has to be more to this story.

How can CC fire him over a F-Bomb when his own engineer admits that it was not Cow's error? Was everything else just rosey with him and the bosses?

Just doesn't add up. I know CC is evil and all, and I am not questioning his honesty, I just think something else had to have happened or going on for them to take such a drastic action.
 
Re: Gotta be more

It will be interesting to hear the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey says... I'm sure after the huge fine Bubba brought down on that station that they are very gun shy. My bet is that there hasnt even been an FCC complaint filed. May be an internal thing. Has the engineer been suspended? Delays are pretty much idiot proof.... wonder what the REAL story is here...




> I am sorry this has happened, but I am getting a "redflag"
> here. There has to be more to this story.
>
> How can CC fire him over a F-Bomb when his own engineer
> admits that it was not Cow's error? Was everything else
> just rosey with him and the bosses?
>
> Just doesn't add up. I know CC is evil and all, and I am
> not questioning his honesty, I just think something else had
> to have happened or going on for them to take such a drastic
> action.
>
 
Re: Gotta be more

Im not sure that we have the whole story ....but this is BS.....we finally got a decent sHow in the morning & what does CC do they %!@$%!% get rid of it .......I was a long time listener to BTLS but have refused to go satellite....,I really have enjoyed hearing Cowhead & thought his show was entertaining ....I refuse to listen to any CC owned stations(sorry b/c some of you guys are doing a really good job) but the fact remains that they have taken Cowhead off the radio FOR WHAT LOOKS LIKE POLITICS. We dont know the whole story yet but this just Feels like the evil empire strikes (@$%# CLEAR CHANNEL)




WHAT HAS HAPPENNED TO FREE SPEECH?
 
Re: Gotta be more

> I am sorry this has happened, but I am getting a "redflag"
> here. There has to be more to this story.
>
> How can CC fire him over a F-Bomb when his own engineer
> admits that it was not Cow's error? Was everything else
> just rosey with him and the bosses?
>
> Just doesn't add up. I know CC is evil and all, and I am
> not questioning his honesty, I just think something else had
> to have happened or going on for them to take such a drastic
> action.
>
MAYBE A BIG FORMAT CHANGE...READ BETWEEN LINES
 
Re: Gotta be more

>
>
> WHAT HAS HAPPENNED TO FREE SPEECH?
>

It's all President Bush's fault. We need to change this in the next election. That we will get some decent radio programs back on, and before of CC or the FCC.

Hillary in 2008!
 
Re: Gotta be more

> I am sorry this has happened, but I am getting a "redflag"
> here. There has to be more to this story.
>
> How can CC fire him over a F-Bomb when his own engineer
> admits that it was not Cow's error? Was everything else
> just rosey with him and the bosses?
>
> Just doesn't add up. I know CC is evil and all, and I am
> not questioning his honesty, I just think something else had
> to have happened or going on for them to take such a drastic
> action.
>


I agree. If Engineering is indeed at fault, then "Cowhead", Medlin and the rest are vindicated. If it went to court...CC would lose.<P ID="signature">______________
www.OhioRadio.net

</P>
 
All Access: Cowhead, Phatty, Medlin OUT

From www.allaccess.com

<u>No Surprise, Medlin, Cowhead And Morning Staff Out At WXTB</u>

Cowhead In Search Of Greener Pastures
Following a suspension earlier in the week (NET NEWS 3/16, 3/14) CLEAR CHANNEL Rocker WXTB (98 ROCK)/TAMPA has turned PD BRIAN MEDLIN, morning man COWHEAD, sidekick PHATTY, and Producer AMY BOSSON's suspension into a dismissal for cause, relating to on-air content that drew some listener complaints.

COWHEAD told ALL ACCESS, "I was told in a meeting this morning that I have been fired for what they claim is cause. My agent ROSS REEBACK is handling this for me. I can't comment futher on this matter at this time." So far, no comment from anyone at CLEAR CHANNEL.

But, COWHEAD did comment last night (3/16) on Radio-Info.com. He was trying to explain an in-studio incedent with a stripper -- who dropped an F-bomb -- that everyone thought that got dumped but got on the air:

"THE TAMPA BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL gave the wrong impression. This has nothing to do with the FCC. The FCC did not comment because they have nothing. I have not been fined, warned or anything like that. This is strictly an internal CC issue. I would love to spill my guts on everything, but at this time I have not even been fired yet.

"And to clear this up ... again ... when the chick on the air dropped the F Bomb and it went out over the air, I dumped that. I was then approached by Brian Medlin after the show who let me know that it went out, and when Spice and I told him we both dumped it, he checked with John McMartin in engineering. After checking some equipment McMartin notified him that it was an engineering error and that not only had the dump not worked that day, but that it had not worked all week because of something they forgot to do in engineering. Anything I dumped did NOT GET DUMPED because of an admitted engineering problem."

Until a decision is made on a new PD, CLEAR CHANNEL RVPP and Rock Brand Mgr. BRAD HARDIN and 98 ROCK MD MIKE KILLABREW will handle all programming decisions.

If you are looking for COWHEAD, contact him at (info is on All Access if you want to read it - I think Cowhead would prefer it not being on a message board.)
 
Could WXTB Be Going Espanol??

On today's (March 17th) "Street Talk" section on Radio and Records.com, the item about Cowhead began "?Donde Este Cowhead?" (with the questionmark at the beginning of the phrase upside-down and not rightside-up as depicted in my quote, as is the case in the Spanish language).

Could the fact that Radio and Records.com used "?Donde Este Cowhead" instead of "Where's Cowhead?" a tip-off of a format change to Spanish-language programming??

I believe Tampa Bay got it's first Spanish-language FM station last year when CBS flipped WYUU to Tropical, reportdely to beat-out Clear Channel (WXTB owner) and be first with a Spanish-language FM station in the market. Could CC, given that they have fired Cowhead and WXTB PD Brian Medlin, decide to "blow up" 98 Rock and flip-it to Spanish-language programming??
 
Sure

Blame the engineer for YOUR F**CKUP!

Ever notice they ALWAYS blame the Engineer?


If the equipment was THAT unreliable they'd be off the air half the time!



> The Tampa Bay Business Journal gave the wrong impression.
> This has nothing to do with the FCC. The FCC did not comment
> because they have nothing. I have not been fined, warned or
> anything like that. This is strictly an internal CC issue. I
> would love to spill my guts on everything, but at this time
> I have not even been fired yet.
> And to clear this up...again...when the chick on the air
> dropped the F Bomb and it went out over the air, I dumped
> that. I was then approached by Brian Medlin after the show
> who let me know that it went out, and when Spice and I told
> him we both dumped it, he checked with John McMartin in
> engineering. After checking some equipment McMartin notified
> him that it was an engineering error and that not only had
> the dump not worked that day, but that it had not worked all
> week because of something they forgot to do in engineering.
> Anything I dumped did NOT GET DUMPED because of an admitted
> engineering problem.
>
> -Cowhead
> www.cowheadshow.com
>
>
> > The FCC obviously has a lot of time on their hands or
> > someone really has it out for WXTB. Now, don't get me
> > wrong, I think Cowhead is great and was all for his hiring
>
> > at 98 Rock. BUT... dude, you know the rules and where
> that
> > line was drawn 2 years ago. You got the shot you wanted
> in
> > Tampa Bay after all the years of bouncing around at
> > Infinity. Whatever was said or done, was obviously very
> > near or went over that line. In my opinion, that was a
> > pretty stupid chance to take knowing the history of this
> > station and what's occured not only with Bubba but the
> > Monsters as well (remember the "sensitivity training"?) in
>
> > the last 2 years. Sorry buddy...
> >
>
 
Re: Possibly another reason...

"Jillian Latzman at Cox radio edited segments of our show to make us seem dirty and sent it to clients all over the Tampa Bay area in an attempt to get them to pull their advertising off of our show." from a post on MySpace
 
Re: Gotta be more

> Im not sure that we have the whole story ....but this is
> BS.....we finally got a decent sHow in the morning & what
> does CC do they %!@$%!% get rid of it .......I was a long
> time listener to BTLS but have refused to go satellite....,I
> really have enjoyed hearing Cowhead & thought his show was
> entertaining ....I refuse to listen to any CC owned
> stations(sorry b/c some of you guys are doing a really good
> job) but the fact remains that they have taken Cowhead off
> the radio FOR WHAT LOOKS LIKE POLITICS. We dont know the
> whole story yet but this just Feels like the evil empire
> strikes (@$%# CLEAR CHANNEL)
>
>
>
>
> WHAT HAS HAPPENNED TO FREE SPEECH?
>

Nothing, this is a business, the rules are very, very simple. Follow them or pay the consequences. CC has been burned by fines numerous times and if the people they hire can't do good radio without cussing or using strippers then the problem is the talents. We all know where the line is lets not act like the man is keeping us down. The line is very clear, quit going over it.
 
Re: Gotta be more

> >
> >
> > WHAT HAS HAPPENNED TO FREE SPEECH?
> >
>
> It's all President Bush's fault. We need to change this in
> the next election. That we will get some decent radio
> programs back on, and before of CC or the FCC.
>
> Hillary in 2008!
>

Hmmmm, that would make an interesting convention speech, "If elected President, I will meddle in private business and make sure Clear Channel suffers, I will also abolish the FCC and allow any and everything imaginable on the radio." NEWSFLASH: If the FCC obscenity rules went away tomorrow, radio would not change all that much. Look at basic cable, no rules apply you can say (BLEEP) at 2 in the afternoon if you wanted to. Why don't they? Money. Period. It is a business folks grow up.
 
Not as contradictory a position as you might think.

> > It's all President Bush's fault. We need to change this
> in
> > the next election. That we will get some decent radio
> > programs back on, and before of CC or the FCC.
> >
> > Hillary in 2008!
> >
>
> Hmmmm, that would make an interesting convention speech, "If
> elected President, I will meddle in private business and
> make sure Clear Channel suffers, I will also abolish the FCC
> and allow any and everything imaginable on the radio."

Democrats enjoy support from the Hollywood creative community, which chafes at indecency restrictions, especially now that the FCC crackdown is starting to hit television programming. So a Democratic administration could tighten up, say, ownership regulations, while loosening up on content restrictions. That may not seem consistent, but it would be the exact opposite of what Republicans have been pushing. Neither party is particularly into 'principles' nowadays, it's mostly 'my team' versus 'your team'; thus the phenomenon of 'big government conservatives.' Each party is for and against government intervention, depending on whose ox is being gored.
 
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