This cocky stance is in keeping with the behavior associated with Clear Channel by its critics. Yet although Smith laughed at an account of a dirty trick played by a company station in Denver against a rival -- "That's pretty funny," he said after being told about a truckload of rocks being dumped in front of an amphitheater box office -- he generally tried to present a vision of a kinder, gentler Clear Channel.
"I wish that we had a 100 percent approval rating from everyone who's ever crossed the path of a Clear Channel radio station or entertainment operation," Smith said. "Obviously, we don't. But that gives us something we can work on tomorrow."