May 15th, 2007 By Justin Williams
Open Thread: Thoughts on Free Speech
For the past month one of the biggest stories nationwide is the debate on free speech and the radio. It started with the firing of Don Imus for uttering the phrase nappy headed hoes in reference to the Rutger’s Women’s Basketball team. Al Sharpton and other special interest groups lobbied for and succeeded in having Imus removed not only from MSNBC but also CBS radio. Another DJ was also fired for repeating Imus’ naughty phrase.
Imus’ firing was followed by the firing of New York’s JV & Elvis for airing a prank phone call to a chinese restaurant that used the phrase Flied Lice in an attempt to make fun of how Chinese people speak. A Chinese special interest group lobbied for and succeeded in having JV & Elvis fired from CBS radio.
The latest controversy being stirred is by nationally syndicated hosts Opie & Anthony. They are in hot water for having a homeless man on the air who said he wanted to have sex with US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice (Explicit Audio Here). Unlike the other incidents, this was said on XM Satellite Radio. The radio duo apologized on both their CBS and XM shows, but was suspended for 30 days today by the Satellite company.
This is a national debate and talking heads are all spreading their opinion, but what’s your opinion? Are these firings justified or do you think it is the politically correct police running amok? Do you think we will see any sort of backlash in the Evansville radio market? Let’s discuss in the comments.
Filed In: Open Thread | Favorite This | Link
|
Tagging links in 
Tagging your photos on 
Contributing to the 
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed below are those of their authors and not necessarily endorsed or supported by It's Evansville. In all cases, the comments provided here are offered as a courtesy and will be moderated. Any content deemed off-topic or offensive will be removed without notice. Posting a comment here boils down to two things: 1.) Think before you type 2.) Respect the thoughts of others. See our commenting guidelines for more information.
Jenna
May 15, 2007 @ 05:08PM
I’m not really a listener of talk radio, but I keep hearing about these things and think it is absolutely RIDICULOUS. I can understand that people may not be happy to hear certain things, but people say derogatory things on a daily basis, every second of the day, shit happens. I’m not saying these are necessarily good things to say—obviously they aren’t, but probably half the damn jokes in America alone are derogatory based on race, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, and various illnesses. I’m epileptic, and I’ve heard my fair share of epilepsy jokes, I may not like it, but I just chuckle, move on, and don’t let it even touch my day.
The problem is, that there’s a little thing in the constitution called “free speech”—and this free speech is not harming anyone, I’m sorry, it’s not. It’s not causing them to profusely bleed, die, turn into a sociopath, or even have their head spin around as pea soup is projectile vomiting. In fact, they won’t even think of it 5 minutes later most likely! Free Speech. Isn’t that one of the very main groundings of this country? So wtf is happening to it?
I may not agree with what is said, but I certainly do disagree with what is happening, what is not being allowed to be said. If it’s that big of a deal, slap their wrist a little, but don’t stomp on and trample our free speech.
If you don’t like it DON’T LISTEN TO IT! If you touch a hot burner, you’ll get burnt, so you learn not to touch it. Same idea here, just a different variation. If you are listening to a show like O&A you know something offensive and stupid is going to be said, that’s their point, that’s who they are, their style—to be provocative, and if you can’t handle it, then why the hell are you listening to it in the first place?
America, get over it, give the free speech back. Damn.
SUPERBANANABOMB
May 15, 2007 @ 05:08PM
I think that we dug this grave ourselves. Things are going to continue to become more and more sterile until we get to the point that nobody is allowed to be a real person. It’s funny how our country itself was based upon freedom to do whatever you wanted to do, yet in barely over 200 years it’s done a complete 180 and now we’re damn near approaching martial law.
KELEIGH
May 15, 2007 @ 05:32PM
I THINK THAT THERE IS A VERY BIG DOUBLE STANDARD WHEN IT COMES TO WHAT IS SAID AND WHO CAN SAY IT. THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO CAN SAY LOTS OF THIGS ABOUT OTHER RACES AND IT IS O.K. BECAUSE THAT RACE IS SUPPOSED TO TAKE IT BECAUSE IT IS THE MAJORITY RACE. THEN WHEN THE TABLE IS TURNED AND COMMENTS ARE MADE ABOUT OTHER RACES BY THE MAJORITY RACE IT IS RACISM. IT IS THE SAME THING IF YOU LOOK AT IT OPEN MINDED. I WILL SAY THAT WHEN THEY GO AFTER CERTAIN PEOPLE AND SINGLE THEM OUT BY NAME OR TEAM THAT MAKES IT ALITTLE MORE PERSONAL BUT IN GENERAL AS FAR AS A WHOLE RACE IT GOES BOTH WAYS THE PUMP 1400 MAKES FUN OF WHITES ON A REGULAR BASIS. I HAVE NEVER HEARD THIS BROUGHT UP ANYWERE.
Chris
May 15, 2007 @ 06:08PM
The Opie & Anthony situation is absurd. They are being suspended for something a homeless man said on their show? Are you kidding me? This isn’t about race Keleigh, this is about special interest groups promoting faux outrage so they can collect more and more money from the rubes walking down the midway. The person who “discovered” these remarks has a web-site whose sole purpose is to find offensive things and raise a stink over them. Whether it is Al Sharpton or The Christian Coalition, their tactics are the same. Act angry, get publicity, cash checks.
I have 3 XM subscriptions and I am suspending them for 30 days to let the corporate unics know how I feel about their handling of this matter.
DJ RAJ
May 15, 2007 @ 06:21PM
OK, I think most of the PEOPLE in America don’t care one way or another. If somthing happens that offends people they either accept it as a joke, or they don’t listen. The only kind of talk that doesn’t need to happen is TRUE hate speech. Sombody who says someone should die because of race is the only thing over the line, because some people could hear it and follow the word of those preaching the hate.
Jokes are jokes, misconceptions about race or slanted views are a reflection on the persons upbringing. “Rosie O’donnel did the ‘ching ching chong ching chong’ mock speech of “Chinese” people.
There are watchdog groups that scare people into reporting about the situation, then when it’s on the news everyone feels it’s more important than it is.
Say what you want, all of these people who get into trouble have to do is Find the right sponsors and network that will support them and they will have jobs again. Fuc@ It they should just start their own podcast and talk mega-shit! Becasue they just got Hellofalotta exposure Via Cable news channels, news websites, newspapers, and Bulletins like this. They’d be in charge of who sponsors their shows and wouldn’t have to worry about anything
The Rob
May 15, 2007 @ 06:41PM
I’m a radio professional and have followed all of these stories very closely. I have worked in New York and am very familiar with Imus’ show. I grew up on Opie and Anthony, and purchased an XM unit for their arrival on 10/4/04. I have listened to Howard Stern for almost 12 years and have worked with him before. I currently work on the air in the Evansville market, doing a show that often times is considered “shocking” and garners complaints.
Although it is certainly ignorant to say our freedoms of speech are not under fire, I am not necessarily convinced these are “freedom of speech issues,” and I’ll explain why:
These are largely corporate issues. Although I think the article was well-written, and it is a topic very much worthy of discussion, I think the article (like many articles about this topic), is ommiting a glaringly relevant point.
None of these instances have been fined by the government. NOTHING racial is open to being fined. FCC standards state that material must be “sexual or excretory in nature,” and “designed to shock or titilate.” Imus could have said the N-word, and contrary to popular belief, he would not have been fined by the FCC. All of the backlash is corporate.
The problem is strictly dollars and cents. These shows lately are NOT SUCCESSFUL. Imus is notorious in our industry for having (literally in some markets) no ratings… Just loyal advertisers, and if the advertisers are there, so is the show. When those “loyal advertisers” (for example Target) became scared and pulled out, CBS decided to can him. I believe if no advertisers had pulled, he’d still be on the air boring us to tears.
O&A are a little of a different story, but not much different. With satellite companies like XM it’s not really possible to get “ratings.” When O&A’s show relaunched in 2004, XM made subscribers pay an additional 99 cents for their show, moreso to measure interest in their product than to actually make money- I think. The show was expected to pick up 100,000 subscriptions to “break even…” It only gathered about 35,000, myself included, and became a free channel within a year. To help make up for the losses, they “sold” the show to CBS-owned Free-FM stations, including New York, Philadelphia, Boston, etc. In numerous markets, (including Dallas and Las Vegas), these shows had a 0.0 rating.
0.0… As great as their show is (my opinion), how are people supposed to sell that to advertisers? There is literally no proof that even ONE person is listening with those numbers. In market’s where their show did rate, the numbers were typically pitiful. I don’t think they ever did better than a 1.3, although I haven’t researched it fully. Their show also was not fined by the government, hence disqualifying it as a free speech issue in my opinion.
The freedom of speech is pretty much my gimmick. All of my papers in high school and college were focused on how important America’s Freedom of Speech is. My myspace has a 12-page thesis on it’s importance. I’m certainly not affraid to cry foul when our freedoms come under fire. But this is not a free speech issue.
Thank you for allowing me to voice my opinion. Sorry so long.
bubbles
May 15, 2007 @ 08:50PM
I agree with the other comments so far. It’s getting ridiculous. This country was founded for freedom and everyday more and more rights are getting taken away from us. If you get offended by something someone says on the radio, don’t listen to them anymore; ignore it. People joke about my height all the time because I’m short but I don’t consider it hate speech against short people. I’m not going to sue them or get them fired because of it. The more I hear about these cases, the more it scares me about where this country is headed.
Amanda
May 15, 2007 @ 09:21PM
I could care less about the opinions or jokes of DJs on talk radio. Sometimes, I do get offended, but there is an easy solution…..change the station. It is ridiculous that these DJs are getting fired for free speech, even if at times their remarks are outrageous. We all have the right to free speech, and those who don’t like it should just not listen.
bellsc42
May 16, 2007 @ 05:08AM
evansville radio is too lame to matter one way or another
Colin
May 17, 2007 @ 08:31AM
First off,evansville talkshows on the radio blow.The music is good on 103,but they replay too much crap on kiss 106 ang hot 96.Let these Djs and talkshow hosts say what they want!i swear jay leno and david letterman get away with tons of shit everynight on nationwide tv,and they dont get BSed for it.Let these people speak their minds for the sake of humor!
acehoosier
May 18, 2007 @ 10:46AM
No one is stopping Imus from saying anything. He can go preach from any street corner in NYC calling anyone he cares to “nappy headed” or ‘ho. He just won’t get paid by his former sponsors and networks for doing so.
Justin Williams
May 18, 2007 @ 10:54AM
That is completely not the point. The point is that it’s a shame that special interest groups are able to wield their small battle cry against these corporations whenever someone says something they don’t agree with. When did these special interest groups become the PC police?
David Coker
May 21, 2007 @ 09:20AM
Has anybody ever wondered why it is that we have no local talk radio here in the Evansville market? Warren Korff used to have what was the last vestiges of a talk radio program on News/Talk WGBF 1280 AM but it was cancelled several months ago and he is now working as an assignment editor for Fox 7 News.
As one who long ago hosted a talk radio prgram on WGAB 1180 AM for several months, I can tell you there is a pent-up demand for something like this and to my knowledge, talk radio has never been seriously persued nor properly marketed in this area.
This situation reflects in many ways the whims of the power elite in this region which is seriously resistant to change of any kind and their unwillingness to support anything new or progressive in this little backwater mudflat in the deep flyover region.