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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.”

РNY Congressman Jos̩ 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.

Matthew Michaels’s columns can also be
found on 411
Music and 1-42.

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