Howard Stern's radio show has never been known for its upstanding taste, yet millions tune in each morning when they wake up or drive to work. The self-professed "King of All Media" has-since arriving on the radio scene nearly 30 years ago-profited off the exploitation of strippers, porn stars, mainstream celebrities, the mentally handicapped, the homeless and individuals with curious physical conditions.But, as Stern's outrageousness grew, so did his audience. He is currently heard in approximately 50 cities each weekday morning. Actually, that number just dropped to the mid-40s, after the media behemoth Clear Channel axed his program from six stations on Feb. 25. Now, listeners in Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Louisville, Ky., Rochester, N.Y., Pittsburgh and San Diego will have to find someone else to humor or offend them.

In its "Responsible Broadcasting Initiative," announced the same day, Clear Channel declared it will institute a "zero tolerance policy for indecent content" to avoid scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission. Among the provisos of this new policy is a requisite agreement between the company and the on-air talent that the burden of any FCC fines be shared. Of course, in a "zero tolerance" environment, it seems likely that any DJ that violates the code will be searching for a new job in addition to their checkbook.

The impetus for the unexpected policy could be the case of Todd Clem, known to Tampa, Fla. Listeners as Bubba the Love Sponge. Clem was fired by Clear Channel on Feb. 24 after incurring an FCC fine of $755,000, according to Salon.com. Clem was, for all purposes, one of the knock-off shock jocks that Stern frequently derides. His show was known for its frank sexual discussions performed with the voice of the Jetsons and other classic cartoons.

The next day, Clear Channel dumped Stern. However, the King does not work for Clear Channel; its stations were only syndication partners. Stern, based on the airwaves of New York's K-Rock, is employed and distributed by Viacom's Infinity Broadcasting. Pure competition does not seem like the primary motive. The fiasco over Stern seems to be rooted in political kowtowing after Janet Jackson's breast was exposed to the world.

In the wake of CBS's memorable Super Bowl halftime show, media giants have been fearfully imposing various degrees of self-censorship. NBC blurred a glimpse of a woman's breast out of a recent episode of ER; ABC aired the Academy Awards on a five-second delay; and CBS presented the Grammys on a five-minute delay.

Beyond the network initiatives, Congress has introduced legislation increasing FCC fines tenfold. The Senate version was introduced by Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), who recently said he plans to go after "polluters of the airwaves." This presumably targets Stern, as Variety reported last week that Brownback sent a letter to Viacom boss Mel Karmazin expressing his discontent with the DJ.

Viacom did impose its own new standards after the Super Bowl, but it seems Brownback is looking for heads to roll, particularly those of controversial radio hosts from Long Island.

Clear Channel, on the other hand, appears to be on its typical good terms with the Republican Party. The bonds between this radio conglomerate and the GOP are hardly covert. Tom Hicks, the vice chairman of the San Antonio-based company, has a controlling stake in one of President Bush's former business interests, the Texas Rangers. Hicks also oversaw the privatization of the University of Texas' $13 billion endowment, one of then-Governor Bush's education initiatives. But this was only the beginning of the relationship between Clear Channel and Bush.

Rush Limbaugh, one of the president's most vocal supporters, receives his paychecks from Clear Channel. So does Michael Savage, who was fired from MSNBC last summer after he dismissed a gay caller to his talk show by calling him a "sodomite," saying, "I hope you get AIDS and die."

Most interesting this year are the political contributions made by Clear Channel. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Clear Channel has given nearly $320,000 to campaigns during the 2004 election cycle, more than any other media association. Clear Channel has sent 80 percent of its contributions to the GOP, a figure that exceeds even the notoriously conservative Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

Howard Stern's popularity is undeniable. Despite his record of fines and firings, his contribution to radio broadcasting is the stuff of legends. His career, chronicled in his memoir Private Parts and the eponymous movie, changed the very nature of radio entertainment. Some, like Todd Clem, made poor use of Stern's influence (he brazenly joked about Windows on the World, the restaurant perched atop the World Trade Center, on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001), but nearly every successful on-air personality now defines their show through relentlessly pushing the envelope.

But some, like Brownback, are now raising the call for the King's head to a deafening scream. Indeed, it's not easy being Howard Stern these days. Congressional scrutiny, a forcibly reduced audience and the recent departure of "Stuttering John" Melendez to the Tonight Show have turned Stern's shows of late into daily sessions of lamenting his job and his political foes at every level from Jay Leno's set to the White House.
Stern has spent many of his recent shows asking his listeners to be mindful of Bush's seemingly expansive cultural war and has made repeated calls for his ouster. Yet if Clear Channel, Sen. Brownback and the FCC have their way, the King of All Media may fall before the House of Bush.