Shock Jock Sacked in Us Airwaves Clean Up

Clear Channel, the biggest radio broadcaster in America, yesterday pulled the plug on the nation's most infamous shock jock, Howard Stern, in line with its recently adopted "zero tolerance" policy towards indecency on the airwaves.

Political pressure on broadcasters to curb risky material has been immense since the singer Janet Jackson bared a breast in a performance during the Super Bowl.

Clear Channel said it had dropped Mr Stern after a candid interview with Rick Solomon, the man who filmed himself having sex with the hotel heiress Paris Hilton, a notorious tape that made its way on to the internet.

According to a transcript, Mr Stern asked Mr Solomon if he engaged in anal sex and referred to the size of his penis. A caller also used a racist term to ask if Mr Solomon had ever had sex with a black woman.

"Clear Channel drew a line in the sand today with regard to protecting our listeners from indecent content, and Howard Stern's show blew right through it," said John Hogan, chief executive of Clear Channel's radio unit. "It was vulgar, offensive and insulting, not just to women and African Americans but to anyone with a common sense of decency."

Infinity Broadcasting, which syndicates the Howard Stern show, said it plans to continue broadcasting the programme across the US. Clear Channel is modifying DJs' contracts as part of its clean-up to make them shoulder some of the financial burden if the company is fined for breaching standards.