The Purposeful Persistence of Doug Vanderlaan, the Listener Who Compelled Clear Channel to Change Its Tune

This article was originally published in the Winter 2005 issue of Christian Networks Journal. 

“The more I listened, the more irresponsible content I heard. I just felt this sense of purpose. I thought to myself, ‘Somebody ought to do something. Why not me?’” Doug Vanderlaan

“One (expletive) in Jacksonville is going to change the
complete landscape of radio forever.” Bubba the Love Sponge ¹

Long before Bono’s prime time profanity and Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction, Doug Vanderlaan filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about the indecency he was hearing on WPLA, Planet Radio, in Jacksonville. It was like David throwing a stone at Goliath. Vanderlaan isn’t a Congressman or a millionaire. He’s the father of two young men who were teens at the time. Clear Channel Communications, the owner of Planet Radio, is the biggest radio empire in the United States.