Shock jock fined

US TV watchdogs have proposed €500,000 in indecency fines against Clear Channel Communications for broadcasts by shock radio host Howard Stern, prompting the nation’s largest radio chain to drop him.

Clear Channel suspended Stern in February from its six stations that carry his programme, which regularly features graphic sexual discussion and humour.

It decided to make the move permanent after the Federal Communications Commission cited the chain for 18 alleged breaches from Stern’s April 9 2003, show.

In a statement on his website, Stern said he was not surprised by the fine, describing it as a continuance of a “witch hunt” against him by President George Bush’s administration.