FCC, Not Clear Channel, To Blame For Radio Censorship

To the editors:

Clear Channel isn’t to blame for the kerfuffle surrounding Howard Stern (Staff Ed, “Indecency on the Airwaves,” March 8). As Congress seeks to increase indecency penalties by a factor of 10 or more and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) revs up to enforce indecency standards more stringently, radio station owners can hardly be blamed for taking action to avoid fines. In fact, independent radio stations are even more vulnerable to government pressure than huge conglomerates, as they are less able to afford FCC fines. The problem here is government overregulation of radio content, not underregulation of radio ownership. The government should get out of the censorship business and let radio station owners, big and small, bring their listeners what they want to hear.

Joshua A. Barro '05

March 8, 2004