WASHINGTON - The Federal Communication Commission has levied a hefty five million dollar fine against popular WJAS morning host and long-time Pittsburgh radio personality Jack Bogut for “willfully and maliciously violating Federal decency standards.” The fine is a result of an ongoing investigation prompted by a complaint from a parent that stated, in part: “While traveling with my children, I had the misfortune of listening to Mr. Bogut’s show, and was forced to endure an hour without belching, flatulence, obscenities, or discussions about male or female genitalia." According to the complaint, the show made the listener “uncomfortable" and "forced" the listener "to explain to his children that not all people are this nice.”
FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin said, in a statement released this morning: “The warm, folksy content of Mr. Bogut’s show consistently exceeds the maximum amount of congressionally-approved, acceptable levels of decency permitted over the airwaves. Mr. Bogut's stubborn refusal to moderate his dignified behavior to comport with modern-day community standards of appropriateness is an affront to listeners everywhere.”
When Bogut’s WJAS morning show colleague and the station's Marketing Director Chris Shovlin informed Mr. Bogut of the FCC decision, the normally affable host flew into a rage. “Doggone it,” he said. “If this doesn’t put a bee in my bonnet. Darn it, didn't the FCC hear that story I told about the cow manure on my recent trip home to Montana? I mean, that was so edgy I had to wait till the kids were in school to tell it.” Bogut then launched into a long, perfectly modulated, soothing disquisition concerning his desire to leave his current employer for a job in the satellite radio industry. “I can’t do my show anymore with these types of restrictions. I’m tempted to say the heck with it all and hook on with Howard Stern's network, where Bogut can be Bogut.”
