Have you noticed how much filth there is on the radio in the mornings? I’m not just talking about Howard Stern. Every major FM pop station in my area has some morning zoo crew blabbing about their hangovers, one-night stands, and sexual escapades. A few months back, the local show “Elliot in the Morning” had a contest for callers to call in and brag about who had the most abortions.

In Los Angeles, a small Christian radio station is fighting back. The Los Angeles Times reports:

It’s morning drive time in Los Angeles.

Howard Stern is hosting “Stump the Perv” on KSLX-FM (97.1), which features a male contestant pitted against a Nevada call girl in a porn trivia contest. He wins and gets five minutes alone with her in Howard’s bathroom.

Meanwhile, Jamie, Jack and Stench on KYSR-FM (98.7) are talking about gay bull riders, crotchless hazmat suits and their white-trash childhoods — all topics that would be applauded at most of the ratings-hungry morning shows on the radio dial.

That is, except for one show — “The Family Friendly Morning Show” from 5 to 9 a.m. hosted by Billy Burke on KFSH-FM (95.9), a Christian-themed station often referred to as the Fish. On one recent morning, Burke is discussing one of his favorite promotions, Random Acts of Kindness Day, where listeners are encouraged to phone in their stories of good deeds either witnessed or performed.

A mother tells Burke that her three children are donating all the money earned from part-time jobs and allowances to their godmother so she can pay for chemotherapy. “Kids are doing good things,” said Burke, a veteran of Top 40 stations and a father of two children, ages 13 and 8. “The majority of kids are good kids.”

The family-oriented show stands virtually alone in the lion’s den of the morning drive time, a fiercely competitive programming block known more for its raunchiness than heart. The feel-good format itself is not unique to Los Angeles, but one of about 10 that broadcast around the nation in such cities as Sacramento, Nashville and Atlanta.

Rolled out over the last several years by Camarillo-based Salem Communications, which owns more than 100 mostly Christian-oriented radio stations, the idea is quite simple — air a morning show that parents and children can tune into without wincing.

Guess it’s just a matter of time before Michael Newdow files a complaint against the “theocrats” for poisoning the airwaves.

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