Watch Your Mouth

I'm back. That means I survived Mother Nature's onslaught yesterday. Fulfilling the promise of Lil' Orphan Annie, the sun did in fact come out today, but alas, it is a dark day in America. Sometimes I like to use hackneyed, flowery prose to set the stage for one of my diatribes. I have to do it now, because if some people have their way, only approved language will be broadcast, or written.

XM radio announced that they are suspending "shock jocks" Opie and Anthony for 30 days in response to a "bit" that aired on their show last week. If you haven't heard, the "skit" in question was a rant by a character named Homeless Charlie and involved him relating all the horrible sexual things he would do to Secretary of State "Condi" Rice and the Queen of England among others. After it aired,(on the subscription service's explicit channel), various groups protested. This is what the various groups do, they complain. Then, in what is alarmingly becoming what companies do, XM suspended the duo.

Opie and Anthony had apologized for the remarks, but XM didn't think they were sincere. Of course they weren't. The O&A show is known for it's off color comedy and envelope pushing content. That's why XM hired them in the frst place and that's why they are on a channel labeled adult. Why should they apologize for doing what they're being paid to do? If they were on some female targeted lite FM station, then maybe there's a case for suspension, but on their adult XM channel, you get what you pay for.

This country is treading into dangerous waters. More and more, small special interest groups are being allowed to become the taste makers of broadcasting. This is a complex argument, and I can't cover all the angles today, but some things seem pretty obvious. Was the skit in bad taste? Depending on your point of view, maybe? Was it offensive to some people? Again, that's open to interpretation. What should be clear is that people had to seek this out. Just like the Don Imus show or the "Doghouse" which was a show that was fired from CBS radio this week, people made an effort to tune in. More so with O&A since you have to subscribe and pay for service in order to hear this particular part of the show. The people making the effort are fans of the show and thus not shocked by the content. If the content shocks you, don't listen. Was their suspension a form of censorship? Sure. XM is in a fight to merge with Sirius radio and is trying to convince the FCC that it should stay out of regulating satellite radio. By suspending O&A, they're showing the Feds they can self police. Was it a good decision, I don't think so.

We need to be careful. Who gets to decide what language is offensive? Do you want someone else telling you what you can listen to? Do you want all your "entertainment" to be filtered through big brother? It's starting with radio, but if left unchecked, one day someone will force cable outlets to stop airing shows like The Sopranos, The Shield and The L Word because someone found them offensive. Is it then a big jump to think books and actual speech could be banned? Listen, I didn't like the bit on the O&A show very much, but I did what any of us can do if we don't like something, I changed the channel.

Sorry if this seems preachy, but if you don't speak up for yourselves, somebody else will do all your talking for you. I have too much to say for that to happen. Later...Brian