Media giant in 'obscenity' cull

Howard Stern was dropped after Clear Channel was fined $495,000

A day after dropping US "shock jock" Howard Stern from its stations, media giant Clear Channel has fired two more radio DJs for airing explicit material.

Clear Channel, the largest US radio station operator, sacked Larry Wachs and Eric Von Haessler, known as The Regular Guys, from Atlanta's WKLS-FM.

Listeners heard a sexual conversation when they left a microphone on during a break. They said it was accidental.

The company has adopted a "zero tolerance" policy on obscene material.

Regulators and politicians are cracking down on broadcasters in the wake of Janet Jackson's infamous breast flash, threatening to increase fines and revoke licences.

'Backward smut'

The offending Wachs and Von Haessler segment came after a feature called "backward smut" on their 19 March show.

In it, the pair got a recording of a pornographic actress talking and played it backwards.

But listeners also heard their conversation during the following commercial. The duo were suspended later that day.

On Thursday, Clear Channel dropped Stern from six stations after regulators fined it $495,000 (£270,000) for an exchange on his show.

The Stern show will still be carried on 35 stations owned by Infinity, including outlets in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.