Monday, October 08, 2007

where’s the howl?

As the New York Times laments in an editorial this morning:

It is with a queasy feeling of history in retreat that poetry lovers discover that WBAI, long the radio flagship of cocky resistance to government excess, decided last week that it couldn’t risk a 50th anniversary broadcast of the late poet [Alan Ginsberg]’s recording of “Howl.” The station retreated out of fear that the Federal Communications Commission would levy large obscenity fines that might bankrupt the small-budget station.


The sort of self-censorship practiced by WBAI on this anniversary is remarkable and sad, but hardly an isolated event. Still, it should cause us all to utter a collective howl of outrage.

Of course, many things these days call for outrage, but that doesn’t mean we hear it.

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1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

About HOWL< WBAI and this years 2007 LSB elections, WBAI is bankrupt. Dan Siegel of the Pacifica National Board is corrupt. He has been temporarily placed on the national board for one month to sabotage the elections and allow the WBAI and Justice and Unity corruption to continue.ons,

10:00 PM  

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