er the airwaves. Even though Stern's show was considered indecent by the FCC, they could not stop it. The FCC can only regulate it. Howard Stern's message might be indecent, however,it is still protected by the first amendment. The outcome of the FCC vrs. Pacifica Foundation gave the FCC "the power to regulate radio broadcasts that are indecent but not obscene."(Gunther,1991) We could look at this power given to the FCC as an infringement of our first amendment rights. Should Americans let the government regulate what we here or say on our public airways? Or should we place "the responsibility and the right to weed worthless and offensive communications from the public airways in a public free to choose those communications worthy of its attention from a marketplace unsullied by the censor's hand."(Gunther, 1991) One could interpret this to mean the government might feel that we are not responsible enough to do this for ourselves. But I believe, however, that if a certain amount of regulation is not applied things could very easily get out of control. If the "seven dirty words" were allowed to be said on the airwaves at any time of the day then others might find reason for openness in many other regulated activities such as pornography, or nudity and open language policies on television. A step in this direction for our society is the wrong step. We have had these regulations in place for a number of years now and it would be devastating in this day and age to allow this type of openness, especially with the problems we are facing in our communities with violence and children. Another, more recent staple in American broadcasting has been Mancow Muller, and his Free Speech Radio Network (Q101) Mancow and his self proclaimed Mancow millitia is taking the Chicagoland area by storm with its vile attempts to challenge the FCC and the citizens of the US. No cases have been brought up against him, though many have tried. His show fea...
