Hogan: ‘I’m Embarrassed’

“I’m embarrassed.”
That’s what Clear Channel Radio President/CEO John Hogan told members of the House Commerce Telecom Subcommittee Thursday about how he felt after reading a transcript of former Clear Channel show “Bubba the Love Sponge.”
In prepared testimony, Hogan stated, “As a broadcaster, as a CEO, and as a parent of a nine-year-old girl, I am ashamed to be in any way associated with those words. They are tasteless, they are vulgar and they should not, do not — and will not — represent what Clear Channel is about.”
He continued: “We were wrong to air that material; I accept responsibility for our mistake; and my company will live with the consequences of its actions. While we cannot ‘take back’ the words that were aired on our stations, we can and will take steps to ensure that it won’t happen again. We are turning the page on how we deal with and prevent inappropriate content from airing on our stations.”
Hogan said the firing earlier this week of Todd Clem, host of “Bubba,” would be “costly and contentious, but it is the right thing to do.” Clem was let go Tuesday after the FCC proposed a $755,000 broadcast indecency fine against Clear Channel over statements Clem allegedly made on his show in 2001.