Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented today on news reports about a pending move by CBS Radio to hire radio talk-show hosts “Opie and Anthony”:
“After I lashed out against ‘Opie and Anthony’ for providing an on-air account of a sexual stunt in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in 2002, they were fired by Infinity Broadcasting, the CBS Radio outlet. Once they were dumped, I withdrew the complaint that I had filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and asked the FCC to drop its investigation. On August 5, 2004, I issued a news release about the decision of XM Satellite Radio to pick up the duo beginning October 4. At that time I said, ‘We wish Opie and Anthony well and trust they have learned their lesson.’ Now CBS Radio is set to bring them back on its Free-FM outlets.
“To those who say ‘you can’t go home again,’ I say nonsense: In the year-and-a-half that Opie and Anthony have been on XM Satellite, not a single complaint has reached our office about anything they’ve said. Indeed, when the two shock jocks were picked up by XM, their producer called one morning and asked if I would go on the air with them. Though I had some reservations, I said yes, and was immediately put through. They made it clear that they regretted the St. Patrick’s stunt. We mixed it up for a bit and had a great time.
“In short, the Catholic League hopes Opie and Anthony have a great run on CBS Radio.”
