Opie & Anthony

[midniteblu2]

What do y'all think about this?

Sleaze ya later,
Opie & Anthony

Shock jocks axed after St. Pat sex stunt

By STEPHEN BATTAGLIO and TRACY CONNOR
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Opie (l.) and Anthony, whose real names are Gregg Hughes and Anthony Cumia, were fired after contest in which a couple had sex in St. Patrick's Cathedral.

New York's WNEW-FM radio pulled the plug on shock jocks Opie and Anthony yesterday over their outrageous sex stunt at St. Patrick's Cathedral.
"Based on recent events, the 'Opie and Anthony Show' has been canceled and will be replaced by other programming," Infinity Broadcasting said.

The duo were unexpectedly silenced as the Federal Communications Commission announced it was opening an official investigation into the outrageous Aug. 15 broadcast.

"I am deeply disturbed about the reports," said FCC Chairman Michael Powell, as regulators demanded documents from the station.

Opie and Anthony, whose real names are Gregg Hughes and Anthony Cumia, could not be reached for comment. Their agent did not return calls.

The pair - whose smutty antics have earned them huge ratings - drew heavy static for a contest that rewarded listeners for having sex in public places.

They aired an eyewitness account of a Virginia couple allegedly copulating in the vestibule of the cathedral, near worshipers.

The contestants, Loretta Harper and Brian Florence of Virginia, and a producer were arrested - and the Catholic League filed a formal complaint with the FCC.

Infinity, owned by media giant Viacom, pulled the show off the air and suspended two station executives while it investigated.

Yesterday, as the furor grew, management dropped the nationally syndicated afternoon drive-time show permanently.

A company executive said the decision - which went all the way up to Viacom President Mel Karmazin - was triggered by public outrage, the FCC probe and negative publicity.

Church pleased

Catholic League President William Donohue, who now plans to drop his FCC complaint, said the punishment suited the crime.

"I have been contacted by so many people - male, female, white, black, different religions, no religion - who told me they've had it," Donohue said.

"I hope this will send a message to shock jocks across the country to clean up their act."

Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York, said the church was "gratified."

At Infinity, an employee said the move "shocked" WNEW workers because Opie and Anthony were the top money-makers at the struggling talk station, ranked 22nd in local ratings.

"They were the linchpin of the station," the employee said.

"I think everybody thought they would get away with it. They thought there would be a slap on the wrists and a suspension and they would return after making a contrite statement."

But Viacom believed the pair - who made about $4 million a year - didn't have long-term potential and had trouble attracting national advertisers who didn't like the off-color content.

The St. Pat's incident just made the situation worse.

"The heat was greater than the rewards," said Michael Harrison of the trade magazine Talkers. "It's a business decision."

Bad jokes

This isn't the first time Hughes, 37, and Cumia, 39, have been fired.

The two Long Island deejays were canned by a Boston station in 1998 for an April Fool's Day hoax announcement that Mayor Thomas Menino had been killed in a car crash.

But that prank didn't stop them from moving to WNEW - where they were known for sleazy antics like Whip 'Em Out Wednesdays, in which they urged female fans to expose their breasts.

Harrison said the firing of Opie and Anthony is "historic" because it demonstrates the public will revolt against shock jocks who cross a line.

"This says you can undoubtedly not do stunts that encourage people to break the law and desecrate religious institutions. They invaded private property. It was a borderline hate crime."

Pete Fornatale, a disk jockey from the days when WNEW was the leading local outlet for rock music, was delighted to hear Opie and Anthony got the ax.

"Good riddance to bad garbage," he said. "I only wish now they would retire the WNEW call letters with the glory of the first 30 years and not the embarrassment of the last three."

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[janelle]

I think those jokers got what they deserved. 4 million a year? Who was crazy enough to pay them that. They will probably regroup and be fouling the air somewhere else soon. You know our kids will be just as obnoxious or more, so we will be reaping what we sow in the future. That's in the bible for these clowns who can't read but we can see it everyday. It's not just a story book.

[Jaidness]

good they s*ck! dang monkey spankers (stolen from someones thread)

[kelblend]

oh man I just kept thinking Andy, Opie and Aunt Bea when I saw the title!!!

Andyyy, supper's on the table get home!!

[jennls]

When I lived in Boston they had pulled a april fools stunt when they were djs on waaf. they had reported that mayor of Boston had died in a car accident in florida where he was vacationing at the time. They were immeditaly fired from the radio station after the mayor went on tv demanding they be fired.

[janelle]

The mayor's family should have sued them for all they had. Imagine hearing that on the radio about one of your loved ones.

[ajksmom]

GOOD, they finally got what they deserve.

[MistyWolf]

I personally think Opie & Anthony are hilarious. I am not saying what was done in the catholic church is right, but they are not one to throw stones now, are they?

It was a joke and no one got hurt .. I am a Howard Stern fan too and more power to both of their shows! Oh and by the way, they are still broadcasting Opie & Anthony in Cleveland .. not sure if they are repeats or not, but if they are, they are still being broadcast so what really was the point!

[NIGHTOWL4]

Got exactly what they deserved...but some
fool will hire them everytime until they
get their pants sued off!

[anarmywife]

A friend who works in radio told me this :

4 million a year was not what they were making it was 3 million a yr a piece.
The same guy who is crazy enough to pay howard stern $21 million a yr. and
imus in the morning $18 million a yr. They will not be regrouping on any other staion, because they have 2
yrs left on their contracts in that time there is a non compete clause which means in the next 2 years they will be flipping burgers or making taco's cause they can not work in any media form, including but not limited to
print, tv, broadcast and satellite. If you hear them on the air then it is a repeat, not a live show and it defintely isn't coming from westwood one.

[mesue]

Gosh thats funny, these guys must be hilarious I've never heard of them until now they will probably get their own tv shows soon, I do feel sorry for the couple from Va. who probably thought no one in Va. that knew them would ever hear about it. Too funny.