As the old year exits stage right and the new year makes its way to center stage, we thought we'd string together a compendium of quotes which appeared in RBR/TVBR during the past year. Today: June 2004

* "I would say our chances of selling Infinity are minimal. The margins are high, the cash flow's great." - - Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone in a CNBC interview. (6/3 RBR #108)

* "We probably will sell some of those stations to others who are more avaricious about radio than we are. Radio is growing, but not as fast as we would like." - - Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone to a Sanford C. Bernstein conference (6/4 RBR #109)

* "By large margins, the Internet and television are deemed to be the most guilty media culprits, with radio a very distant third. When asked to specifically identify exposure to indecent material in the media, once again television and Internet content surpassed all mentions of radio." - - Paragon Media Strategies' Mike Henry (6/4/04 RBR #109)

* "...his issue is one of content that's not appropriate." - - Allison Barber, the Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for Internal Communications, on why Howard Stern isn't carried on military radio (6/7/04 RBR #110)

* "I look forward to hearing more local artists, local news, local public affairs programming and community-based programming on low power FM radio stations throughout the country." - - Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on introduction of the Low Power Radio Act of 2004 (6/7/04 RBR #110)

* "I was 100% in favor of overturning the ownership rules." - - Democratic Presidential candidated John Kerry in C-SPAN interview (6/8/04 RBR #111)

* "I have no idea. Mel's obviously a great, great talent. He is probably one of the most passionate people in our industry and I think we're always looking for great people to enlarge your organization - - but we haven't talked to Mel," Randall Mays, responding to an analyst's question of whether there might be a role for Mel Karmazin at Clear Channel. (6/8 RBR #111)

* "I do believe that fundamentally being a stand-alone radio company, maybe not today, but in five years, particularly if you're public, just doesn't make any sense." - - Radio One CFO Scott Royster to a Deutsche Bank Securities Media Conference in New York. (6/9 RBR #112)

* "We are disappointed that Nielsen has decided roll out its faulty, biased technology in New York over the protests of so many consumers, experts, and industry leaders. We're going to continue to pressure Nielsen to stop this travesty before their planned launch in Chicago this August." - - Dr. Leon Finney, Chairman of Chicago's Woodlawn Organization, part of the local Don't Count Us Out coalition, which was opposing Local People Meters. (6/10 TVBR #113)

* "It was a tough negotiation, but a fair resolution. We didn't agree that all the complaints were legally indecent, but some clearly crossed the line and for those we have taken full responsibility. No broadcaster has taken stronger steps to ensure its broadcasts comply with the law and we intend to keep it that way." - - Clear Channel EVP/Chief Legal Officer Andrew Levin on its 175M Consent Decree with the FCC (6/10/04 RBR #113)

* "Clear Channel has now formally admitted that it violated the law and has made binding commitments to clean up its act, including preventive measures such as training for on-air personalities and employees that participate in programming decisions and the use of time delays in its broadcasts." - - FCC Chairman Michael Powell on 175M Consent Decree with Clear Channel (6/10/04 RBR #113)

* "The political ideology of most of these companies is profit." - - Tom Rosenstiel of the Project for Excellence in Journalism on media political bias (6/10/04 RBR #113)

* "I believe that families are fed up with the explosion of indecency, obscenity and relentless profanity which is broadcast into our homes at moments when children are most likely to be tuning in. I hope that Clear Channel's agreement with the FCC indicates that it is fed up, too, and I hope that other media companies will take note and act appropriately." House Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) on Clear Channel's Consent Decree (6/14/04 RBR #115)

* "We understand that given recent positive actions of Clear Channel, an olive branch could have been extended by the FCC. Instead they handed Clear Channel the entire tree." - - Brent Bozell of the Parents Television Council on Clear Channel's Consent Decree (6/14/04 RBR #115)

* I think the media doesn't understand what it's role is in this country any more." - - former presidential candidate and Vermont Governor Howard Dean on media's failure to live up to it's Fourth Estate heritage (6/15/04 RBR #116)

* "This census confirms again that local, over-the-air radio and television stations are collectively the number one provider of public service in America." - - NAB President/CEO Eddie Fritts, reporting that broadcasters provided $9.6 billion in public service in 2003. (6/15 RBR #116)

* "NRTC and DirecTV have a dagger pointed at the heart of Pegasus. Only this Court can stop the irreparable harm that now threatens Pegasus and its stakeholders and that will preclude any attempt to reorganize the Debtors." - - Pegasus Communications in a filing with a US Bankruptcy Court. (6/16 TVBR #117)

* "Contrary to recent trends in which months have begun strong then faded, pacing into July and August have started soft, and have continued to soften/turn negative in the last week. Unless this trend reverses, Q3 could disappoint, as well." - - Goldman Sachs, analyst Richard Rosenstein on radio pacings. (6/18 RBR #119)

* If every local affiliate that broadcast the Super Bowl was expected to pay a huge fine for a decision they had no knowledge of, we would see numerous small broadcasters go under and that's just not right." Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) on potential problems with massive new indecency fines (6/22/04 RBR #121)

* "As an industry, we must discontinue practices created for a different time and, instead, focus on consistent, reliable metrics that reflect the true value of our business. Weekly pacings are no longer a meaningful or accurate measure of the performance and long-term value of radio advertising." - - Clear Channel Radio President/CEO John Hogan (6/23/04 RBR #122)

* "Talk about a mixed bag. On a near unanimous voice vote, the Senate passed a bill increasing indecency fines nearly ten fold while at the same time rolling back the FCC's dangerous 2002 decision to allow additional media mergers and consolidation. Unfortunately, the smart money says that in a conference with the House, the indecency fines will survive and the FCC rollback will die - - the worst possible outcome for the public interest." - - Center for Creative Voices in Media on a rider attached to a defense appropriations bill (6/24/04 RBR #123)

* "Today's decision perversely may make it dramatically more difficult for the Commission to protect against greater media consolidation. It sets near impossible standards for justifying bright-line ownership limits...This is deeply troubling and hampers the flexibility of the agency to protect the American public, as this agency is charged to do. This is the second time a court has put aside exhaustive efforts by the expert agency to set numerical limits. This has created a clouded and confused state of media law. The chaotic results demonstrate the wisdom of Chief Judge Scirica's nearly 100 page dissent, where he says that 'the Court has substituted its own policy judgment for that of the FCC and upset the ongoing review of broadcast media regulation mandated by Congress.'" - - FCC Chairman Michael Powell (6/25/04 RBR #124)

* "We have now heard from the American people, Congress, and the courts. The rush to media consolidation approved by the FCC last June was wrong as a matter of law and policy. The Commission has a second chance to do the right thing. We must immediately move forward and redesign our media policy. This time we must include the American people in the process instead of shutting them out. We must rediscover our respect for core values of localism, diversity, and competition." - - FCC Commissioner Michael Copps (6/25/04 RBR #124)

* "A significant number of issues critical to American consumers are pending before the Commission. We need someone with [Adelstein's] knowledge and experience on the job at the FCC." - - members of the Senate Commerce Committee in a letter to President Bush urging the renomination of FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein (6/25/04 RBR #124)

* "Media General is pleased that the Third Circuit Court of Appeals sustained the repeal of the Federal Communication Commission's 29-year-old rule against cross-ownership of newspapers and broadcast stations...Our operating experience has proven that cross-ownership fosters the delivery of better, deeper and faster local news to the communities we serve." - - J. Stewart Bryan III, Chairman/CEO, Media General Inc. (6/29/04 RBR #126)

* "Today's action by the Third Circuit is a stinging rebuke to Chairman Powell's efforts to abandon the public interest in favor of a result-driven, deregulatory ideology. Its decision confirms what Congress and people all over America have been saying for some time - - that the FCC to date has systematically ignored its obligation to ensure that diverse and antagonistic sources of news and information are available to citizens across America." - - Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-SC), Ranking Member, Senate Commerce Committee (6/29/04 RBR #126)