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Stern got a 'C' on FCC here

Howard Stern studied FCC rules in Fredericksburg, then got rich by ignoring what he learned

By MICHAEL ZITZ

Date published: 1/6/2005

By MICHAEL ZITZ

Twenty-one-year-old Howard Stern took a class on FCC regulations in Fredericksburg in 1975 and got a "C."

Then he got fined millions by the FCC.

Then he signed a half-billion-dollar radio contract at the end of 2004.

Spotsylvania County native Raymond W. Gill Jr. might want to think about reopening the Shannon Airport broadcasting school where he taught Stern and 1,500 other students in the '70s and '80s.

After all, Gill has a glowing endorsement from "The King of All Media," who recently signed the biggest deal in broadcasting history with Sirius Satellite Radio.

Last week, Gill laughed about the idea of cashing in on the "shock jock's" success, saying, "If I thought that would work, I might consider it."

The problem is that Stern became famous, then rich, by ignoring much of what Gill taught him about the FCC.

The course included basic physics, basic electronics, principles of radio and television broadcasting, and, Gill said with a chuckle, "oddly enough, FCC rules and regulations."

In 1975, when he was 21, Stern left his Long Island, N.Y., home to come to the Radio Engineering Institute of Electronics near Shannon Airport on the recommendation of a friend. After 162.5 hours of study, he received a grade of "C."

When Stern published his autobiography "Private Parts," which later became a film, he sent a copy of the book to Gill. Stern inscribed it: "To the man who made it all possible."

He also sent Gill a letter that said: "You have no idea how many times over the years I told everyone my war stories about my summer in Fredericksburg.

"Let me go on the record and tell you how much your class meant to me," Stern wrote. "It proved to me that I could do anything if I put my mind to it. Your style and confidence were inspirational, and there isn't another teacher in the world like you."

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Date published: 1/6/2005