FCC's red over 'NEW sex stunt
By DAVID HINCKLEY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
A sexual stunt in St. Patrick's
Cathedral - part of a WNEW-FM
radio contest by its afternoon
bad boys Opie and Anthony -
could cost the station its license,
a Federal Communications
Commission official said
yesterday.
FCC Commissioner Michael Copps
said he has received hundreds of
E-mails about the incident, in
which the station broadcast a live
account of a couple allegedly
having sex in St. Pat's.
"If the complaints and press
accounts prove true, this
commission should consider the
strongest enforcement action
possible against this station, up
to and including revocation of the
station's license," Copps said.
Opie and Anthony's show went
into reruns yesterday, as the
jocks joined everyone at the
station and at parent company
Infinity Broadcasting in staying
silent.
On Friday, the Catholic League
filed a formal complaint over the
broadcast. The complaint now
goes to the FCC's Enforcement
Bureau, where Copps said
yesterday, "I expect it to be on
the fast track."
The couple, Brian Florence and
Loretta Harper, are due in court
tomorrow on public lewdness
charges. Their lawyer, Miranda
Fritz, said they were fully clothed
and only simulating sex.
Cleaning up airwaves
Copps, a Democrat appointed to
the FCC by President Bush, has
blasted the broadcast industry
for failing to control indecency
over the airwaves and has
warned that legislators may step
in if radio doesn't clean up its act.
No one at WNEW (102.7 FM) or
Infinity would talk yesterday,
referring only to a statement
released Friday that "WNEW
regrets the unfortunate incident.
We apologize to anyone who has
been offended and have taken
measures to ensure it does not
happen again."
One station official said Opie and
Anthony were not fired but that it
didn't want to make any further
public comment until it has fully
investigated the incident.
Catholic League President William
Donohue applauded Copps'
statement, saying, "We trust the
Enforcement Bureau will act just
as responsibly. Nothing would
make us happier than for
WNEW's license to be revoked."
<IMG SRC="http://www.longislandoutside.com/brijjack2.gif">