For Your Listening Pleasure
Ashley MacIsaac – Hi How Are You Today?
Said But True
“It’s the end of free speech … It’s really the end. This country is nuts and George W. Bush has to go. If you are a fan of mine, and I reach millions of people, just get him out of office. Your rights are being taken away.
“When I got into radio, it was a wasteland of people playing records and news guys not giving opinions. I got on the air and changed it. I bucked the system. The reason there are freedoms on the air today is because of what I did. Period. End of sentence. I fought everyone who ever said to me, ‘You can’t do what you are doing on the air.’ I’ve been fighting it for 25 years so jerk-offs like Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh and the whole lot of them could get on the air and have a party. I’m all for it and all for free speech, but remember who got you there. It’s not the guys who didn’t take risks. It’s the guys who are on the front line. Rush Limbaugh wasn’t on the frontlines of Vietnam because of his knee injury and he wasn’t on the frontlines of the radio industry when I was breaking down all the walls. The same with Bill O’Reilly. He was an anchorman sitting there behaving himself and then they all saw what radio could be and what television could be and what it’s like to express themselves. And now they all sit idly by.”
— Howard Stern, in response to the 3/11/04 vote by the House of Representatives on H.R. 3717, the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004 (the first words she spoke on his radio show the following morning)
“The big question on this bill is ‘Why now?’ There are enough laws in place and regulations to deal with this issue. I feel that some of the good, well-intentioned members have been caught up in this desire to all of a sudden clear up the airwaves. I believe it is a distraction. It is a weapon of mass distraction to keep us away from the real issues at hand. The fact is, that this part of my opinion of the continuing thinking of the Patriot Act, the philosophy of the Patriot Act, that says we will read your e-mails, we will find out what you take out from the library. We will hold you in detention without charges or a lawyer and we will then tell you what you can listen to on the radio. Now, let’s understand something, the target here is coming from the political and religious right and it is directed only at that which they think is bad, anti-American, or indecent. Right-wing radio which demonizes liberals, minorities, environmentalists, pro-choice and animal rights activists, they are fine, they will not be touched. And let me for the record say, I support their right to say whatever they want about me and other liberals.
“The main target these days is Howard Stern. What does Howard Stern have to do with this issue and the political agenda? For years, he supported the administration on the war. He supported the administration on capital punishment. He supported the administration on just about everything. The last couple of months he has had a change of heart and started opposing the war, opposing the opposition to [stem cell] research, opposing the opposition to pro-choice and all of a sudden, he’s in deeper trouble than he has ever been in before. How else can we explain that the day before his bosses, Clear Channel, were to face a congressional committee, they fired him from six markets throughout this country? The FCC has been complaining about his locker humor jokes for years. Some people have suggested that he was not in good taste for years. But now the big bang to get him off the air? Was he okay when he was supporting the administration? How did Clear Channel decide to knock out its number one money maker one day before facing Congress? I wish I was the telephone company and could have heard those phone calls coming in with the political pressure. My friends, this is a dangerous time. This bill should be defeated. If for no other reason to send a message that there is something larger here at work than simply something you don’t like. What I don’t like, may be something you like and vice versa. The best protection we have is not this bill. Just turn the channel, switch the station.”
— NY Congressman José E. Serrano from the debate prior to the House vote
“We thank you for your invitation. We regretfully decline your interview request at this time.”
— Response from FCC Chairman Michael Powell to an invitation to appear on the Howard Stern show
[Credit: www.fmqb.com]
Stern Warning
Well, ladies and gentlemen, things just got a bit interesting in this whole “decency” debate as what seems to be Operation: Boot Howard is underway.
While the above quotes tell an interesting story, I’m in no way writing this column to pass judgment on motive – because there’s no way for me to know whether or not Howard stern indeed has been intentionally instigating the Bush Administration recently; or if ClearChannel’s booting his show from their six affiliates was due to the radio giant’s relationship with Bush vs. fear of getting fines in the Post-Janet’s-Nipple Era; or if Serrano would be speaking up so much if this issue looked to make his side of the aisle the bad guy.
What this whole debate does have me wondering about, though, are two things: (1) as an occasional radio listener, and for all intents and purposes a member of “mainstream America,” how will higher decency-related fines and therefore more control over the airwaves by the Federal Government affect me? And (2) what do I really think about this, from a politically philosophical point of view?
I heard an interesting point during an argument on the “O’Reilly Factor” the other day, and it’s something I have a BIG problem getting my head around:
“The public owns the airwaves.”
SHEESH. Think about that for a second. Anything you can pick up via antennae IS in fact, just “out there” in “public” space. Well, that being said, who ought to decide what goes on the air? Should the government be regulating it, or is this something that the market will ultimately decide?
The argument for the government regulating it is a simple one: the public, including children (who I feel it’s right to be extra-sensitive about), have access to this stuff at any time, so the gov’t needs to make sure broadcasters are careful and responsible for what they let go over the air. (Note to Bill Maher, who discussed this issue with George Carlin and others on his HBO show recently: even though kids “aren’t tuning into NPR” or other talk shows most of the time, they still CAN, and very easily – for free – as long as they have a walkman.)
The argument for letting the market decide also isn’t very complicated: if “irresponsible” programming is allowed to go over the air by a broadcaster, and listeners are offended, then listeners will change the station. When listeners tune off, sponsors/advertisers have no reason to pay for their spots, since the audience has diminished. Without advertisers, stations can’t afford to stay on the air. (Note on non-commercial, public radio: of course, this need not apply, so the FCC may have more of an interest here, although you might be able to substitute “sponsors/advertisers” with “private donors” who pay the bills a lot more so than tax dollars.)
But there are of course problems inherent in both. Our government has decided to let the President appoint the FCC to take care of this, and since they’re not accountable to the entire public like, say, Congress is (not saying that Congress is much better here), you end up with a committee of a few men and/or women deciding what is acceptable to the public. And of course, that borders on censorship and the limiting of First Amendment rights. On the other side of things, just because the masses want something on the air, doesn’t mean it’s “right” (whatever that means) for DJs to be cursing into a microphone as kids listen on their way to elementary school. Additionally, if you took away all regulation, the airwaves would be nothing but a bunch of noise, with pirate stations popping up left and right, intruding on various frequencies, and stopping virtually all programming from getting seen/heard by ANYone. We all know how annoying it is to tune into, say, 100.3 MHz and get two stations going at once.
But where’s the line? What’s the solution? Is there one?
Who the f*ck knows? What I do know is that I’d prefer to see a balance. Let the FCC (or preferably, Congress, spearheaded by a CONGRESSIONAL committee made up of the PEOPLE’S representatives) set guidelines about the technical aspects of TV and radio, to avoid the noise. And let the market do the decency-related censoring naturally.
But what happens if all the sponsors pull out, or if broadcasters like ClearChannel simply cancel programming on a whim (or if Howard Stern is right, cancel his show due to political reasons)?
Well, Opie & Anthony, Bubba the Love Sponge, and the rest may be onto something. Do what cable TV has been doing for years in order to avoid any sort of censorship or regulation: deliver your programming only to those who pay for it.
I think I just decided to buy some XM stock. I’m Sirius.
Until next time…
peace. love. moe.
– Matt
Matt’s Black Log
Matthew Michaels’s columns can also be found on moodspins and 1-42.
