John Gibson and Other Broadcasters Who Step Over the Line

FoxNews John Gibson has drawn fire from media critics and fans of the late Heath Ledger with his callous remarks about the young actor, who was found dead in his Manhattan apartment January 22. Calling Ledger "a weirdo" and playing clips from Ledger's hit movie "Brokeback Mountain" that had Ledger saying, "We're dead," Gibson mocked the talented actor throughout his radio show. He stated that Ledger was "suicidal", probably from watching the Democratic debate the previous night.

But Gibson is not alone in his stepping either too close or completely over the line of good taste. He joins a growing crowd of broadcasters willing to do or say just about anything to get attention, which, as we all know, gets them better ratings. Sometimes it gets them fired, but then they're hired by someone else and their stock in the public arena goes up. The listening and viewing public never seem to get enough "shock" talk.

Take, for instance, the case of Howard Stern. Stern is notorious for stepping over the line with callous and insensitve remarks. TMZ calls Stern the entertainment's biggest controversy "pimp." No one will ever or should ever forget his terribly callous remark made on radio station DC 101 just after the Air Florida crash at the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, DC. He called Air Florida the next day and asked them the price of a one-way ticket for the 14th Street Bridge. This was the beginning of his rise to fame. In 1999 he made the comment that he couldn't understand why kids would kill other kids and then themselves without first having sex with some of the good looking girls running around during the Columbine High School massacre. When the singing artist, Selena, was killed, Stern played gunshot sounds the day of her funeral and made the remark that "Spanish people have the worst taste in music..."