Koch intended to use this public shaming, swiftly dubbed "The John Hour", as a tool to reduce prostitution.
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.
[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".