Who But The FCC Should Decide

Who but the FCC should decide?

June 2004 Issue, p. 38

By Phil Valentine

The recent FCC crackdown on talk radio was all the buzz at the recent New Media Seminar in New York. From the podium in the theater to private discussions around dinner tables, everyone had an opinion. Most were horrified that the FCC has come down on Howard Stern and feared it would bleed over into more mainstream talk. They claimed the government had no right to limit free speech on the radio. However, when I inquired if they thought the F-word should be allowed, to a person, they thought it should be banned.

Now, wait a minute. Isn't that limiting free speech? Ah, so there are certain words that are out of bounds. How about the N-word? According to my informal poll, the talkers at the seminar were divided on that. Some thought it okay, others saying it was only allowable if a black person said it.

You see, therein lies the dilemma. Somebody has to be the arbiter of such matters. Historically, the FCC has decided those issues based on community standards. Ambiguous, at best, it's worked rather well for a long time. Stern pulls in listeners in New York and Philadelphia but he doesn't play well in more conservative parts of the country. When stations choose to run his show they also run the risk of violating those community standards. With Stern's style of show, it's a game of “how can I shock you today.” It's only a matter of time before he crosses somebody's line of decency somewhere.

Does Stern or anyone else have the right to say anything they like on the radio? The short answer is, no. The stale response of “just change the station” is an oversimplification of a complex problem. I counted them up and I have something on the order of 15 radios in my home. That includes Walkman types, bedside clock radios, desktop models. Heck, I even have an ink pen that doubles as a radio. I also have three young sons in the house. There's no way my wife and I can monitor everything they're listening to 24 hours a day. Not to mention when they're out of the house and in someone else's car or home.

The airwaves are wide open. Anyone with 2 bucks can buy a radio and listen. Saying you should just change the station is akin to seeing two people having sex in the park and saying “just look the other way.”

Satellite radio is a different story. This new medium is not unlike HBO or Showtime or any other subscription television service. Adults make a conscious decision to purchase the service and you can't listen unless you're a subscriber. The rules governing satellite radio should be as different for that sort of radio broadcast as the rules are different between broadcast television and subscription channels.

Oh, but they're coming for political talk radio next, I hear. That's a leap of logic I'm not willing to take. Don't get me wrong. There are certainly forces out there that want to shut down talk radio, especially conservative talk radio. I've been on the receiving end of censorship myself and it didn't come from the FCC. It came from the broadcast company I was working for. I must add that it was not Clear Channel, the ones who have taken so much heat for yanking Stern from their stations. In the 3 years I worked for them, they never once tried to dictate the content of my show. In my case, I jumped from the frying pan into the fire when I left Nashville for Philadelphia and the guests on my show had to be approved by the sales department! That problem is certainly more prevalent than FCC fines.

My radio contracts now include a provision that management can “suggest” changes to the show but I have the final authority. As long as I don't jeopardize the station's license, I'm free to express myself as I see fit. They do this in good faith because they know I'm responsible enough to conduct my show in a manner that won't violate community standards of decency.

And don't tell me clean doesn't attract listeners. The giants of the industry like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity don't stoop to the level of Stern and they attract far more listeners. Stern should actually count his blessings. His Alan Alda-type delivery has allowed him to get away with far more than some of the more brash imitators could ever pull off. That's not to say that Stern isn't talented. He's a gifted broadcaster but he purposely crosses the line. He shouldn't be surprised when he gets slapped back every now and then.

So, where does this recent harangue over the FCC leave broadcast talk radio? Exactly where it's always been. We've managed to survive for 75 some-odd years without being subjected to graphic descriptions of anal sex on the radio. Now that such radio, and worse, is surfacing, why are we all of a sudden surprised that people want it stopped?

The enemies of free speech aren't the likes of George Bush or Michael Powell. The enemies of free speech on radio are people like Howard Stern. By continually pushing the envelope they invite the wrath of an outraged public. It's time we stop defending and feeling sorry for them and applaud efforts to clean up our industry before they destroy it.