[Vision2020] Howard Stern and the First Amendment

thansen@moscow.com thansen@moscow.com
Fri, 9 Apr 2004 17:05:33 GMT


I have been following the Howard Stern fiasco fairly closely these past few 
days.

As some of you have discussed earlier (and convinced me to go along with), 
Howard Stern is not the best thing to listen to first thing in the morning.

Now the FCC has levied a $500,000 fine against his employer and has threatened 
to pull the plug on all Howard Stern broadcasts because Stern has made several 
references to various body parts and bodily functions on the air.

I still believe that if you don't like what you see on television, change the 
damn channel.  If you don't like what you hear on the radio, switch to another 
station.

Kinda reminds me of Lenny Bruce.  It is claimed that he (Bruce) was kicked off 
the air because of his use of profanity.  I feel that he was being "silenced" 
because of what he was saying, not how he was saying it.  He spoke out against 
things that many people "believed in".

Now it is Stern's turn.  I agree with most of you that what he presents is 
garbage, trash, . . .  For this we should kick him off the air?  His spoken 
word is being silenced.

Yet, if he put his thoughts to music and sang his "song", he would be among 
other such cherished singers as Eminem.

For him, he has the freedom to speak.

For me, well . . . I think that I'll just switch radio stations.

Take care,

Tom
Hansen

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