The John Hour refers to the public naming of " johns " (male customers of female prostitutes ).

In October 1979, New York City mayor Ed Koch instructed WNYC , the city's public radio station, to read the names of convicted "johns". Koch intended to use this public shaming , swiftly dubbed "The John Hour", as a tool to reduce prostitution .

The first John Hour was broadcast on WNYC on October 23, 1979, read by announcer Joe Rice; it was also read on WMCA and published in the New York Daily News . ^[1] An uproar ensued. On October 26, The New York Times editorialized:

"This week's premiere of Mayor Koch's 'John Hour,' which broadcast the names of nine convicted customers of prostitutes, was a shabby show, in no way redeemed by its brevity. It took only about a minute for city-employed announcers to read the names over city-owned radio and television stations. But it was a mighty misuse of government power." ^[2]

After one broadcast, "The John Hour" was discontinued. ^[3]

In March 2008, New York governor Eliot Spitzer was exposed as a customer of a high-priced prostitution ring. In the wake of this scandal, Koch advocated reinstating "The John Hour". ^[2]

References [ edit ]

External links [ edit ]

• Audio of the WNYC broadcast at The WNYC Archives

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