Shock Show Jocks Sex Negative Offend Things Played

America's "airwaves" (radio stations) are filled with many DJs, but the "shock jocks" tend to get "the lion's share" (most) of listeners' attention. Their humor is designed to "shock" (surprise in a negative way) and offend others, primarily by focusing on topics like sex and "toilet humor" (jokes about going to the bathroom).

The most "infamous" (famous in a bad way) shock jock is probably Howard Stern. He has done and said many things to offend others. For example, in 1995, just a few days after the singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was murdered, Stern played her music "along with" (at the same time as) the sounds of gunfire and he said very negative things about Spanish-language music and Hispanic culture. For these and similar "shenanigans" (trouble-making behavior), radio stations that "aired" (broadcasted) his show paid about $2.5 million in FCC fines. Today, he continues to speak on the radio, but his shows are now on "satellite radio" which is "outside the domain of" (not covered by) the FCC.

In 2002, a pair of shock jocks known as Opie and Anthony used their radio show to create a contest for people to have sex in "noteworthy" (worth paying attention to) places. When a couple reported that they had had sex in a "cathedral" (a large church or place of worship), there was a public "outcry" (spoken anger or outrage). The show was canceled and the company that had aired the show had to pay a fine.

In 2004, two DJs in Portland, Oregon known as Marconi and Tiny played the "audio" (sounds) of a man's murder while making jokes, laughing, and playing music. They "were fired" (lost their job) that day because of their "indecent" (obscene; socially unacceptable) show.