A Matter Of (Broadcast) Decency (Or Politics)

The call for new laws governing “indecency” in the media is gathering heat, and last week Howard Stern was dropped from six radio stations. “One central question is whether the heat generated by these issues will subside without producing lasting change, as it has before, or if a new era of government regulation and media restraint has begun. Despite the current political momentum, nightly programming on the major networks continues to include numerous flash points involving language, sexuality and violence.”