The Triangle

Issue date: 4/29/05 Section: Ed-Op

The issue of indecency and censorship in the American media has once again surfaced at the forefront of public discussion with recent legislative proposals calling for dramatically increased fines for indecency standards violations on television and radio. Politicians are calling for these measures, along with tighter broadcasting standards and stricter enforcement of FCC guidelines, in an effort to sanitize media content. However, few are looking at the downside of this increasingly intrusive censorship of expression. While the goals of such efforts may seem noble, they are, in reality, severe infringements on the rights of Americans, and set dangerous precedents regarding the scope of governmental control. Censorship of television and radio not only defies the constitution, but also defies fairness and defies the proper role that a government should have.

Proponents of censorship argue that since television and radio airwaves belong to the public, the Government, which represents the public, may use its authority to censor them. However, this is precisely the reason that they should not be censored. It would be reasonable to assume that in an unregulated media, the programming that is broadcasted would reflect the demands of the public. For example, if 10% of the public preferred to watch television shows with captions, then it is likely that 10% of television shows would be broadcasted with captions. Similarly, it is logical that if 45% objected to viewing sex and profanity on television, then 45% of networks would restrict sex and profanity. Government censorship, though, does not, in effect, bring broadcasting more in line with public demand, but rather forces all broadcasting to operate in line with what only a portion of the population demands.

Censorship proponents allege that inappropriate media content is corrupting society. They cite, for example, that increases of sexual content and violence in the media correlate with rises of fornication and violent acts in America. This, however, is an unabashed distortion of cause and effect. The decline of the media's morality has not caused a decline of morality in American society; it is the decline of morality in American society that has caused the decline of media morality. Indecency in the media simply reflects the indecency within society. It does not cause it. This makes sense when one considers that the media is not run by aliens from another planet, who are detached from society, but by people who are products of American society. If these people have low moral standards, then society is to blame for it. And by extension, society is to be blamed when these people's values (or lack thereof) rub off on the public. Further proof is the public's receptiveness to broadcasted material. If the media's "objectionable" material did not reflect the values that society already held, then there would not be demand for it. For example, American society clearly values patriotism. And so, if any television or radio shows were to preach Anti-Americanism, these programs would have very little demand, indicating their inconsistency with the public's values. Conversely, the enormous demand for television, music, and movies that promote violence, sex, and profanity indicates that the values which they espouse are already consistent with society's values. And so, it is clear that society is the problem, not the media.

Continued...

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