XM Satellite Radio Backlash

mrchubbs writes "Sponsors and subscribers to XM Radio are protesting the decision by XM management to suspend the Opie and Anthony show for comments made on an uncensored channel. Subscribers are canceling subscriptions — some estimate that between 20,000 and 40,000 have cancelled. Some are even smashing their radios in protest. Sponsors are pulling ads. Also, there is some evidence of XM not honoring cancellation requests, forcing multiple calls to finally get accounts canceled." Of course this dispute isn't a free-speech issue. "Free speech" refers to a prohibition on censorship by the government; XM is free to do as it wishes with the content it broadcasts, within the law.

Comments

Re:Must Be A Joke

[chrono13]

Siriusly, my name is not Surely!

Re:Speech, Schmeech... It's a Business

[WrongSizeGlass]

You know, for a generation raised on digital music, you sure all get caught in the same groove, sounding like broken records, a lot. Please refrain from analog analogies. Surely you meant to say something along the lines of "You know, for a generation raised on digital music, you sure all report the same sector as bad, a lot" or maybe even "share the same invalid address space, a lot".

Re:Not free speech, free enterprise!

[Fear the Clam]

Cable TV was supposed to deliver the kind of raw material that the public craves.

It's got electrolytes.

"uncensored" -=subscription=- radio!

[Scrameustache]

So, is making jokes about rape on national radio "right"? Ohhh, some people don't like you to talk like that. Ohh, some people like to shut you up for saying those things. You know that. Lots of people. Lots of groups in this country want to tell you how to talk. Tell you what you can't talk about. Well, sometimes they'll say, well you can talk about something but you can't joke about it. Say you can't joke about something because it's not funny. Comedians run into that shit all the time. Like rape. They'll say, "you can't joke about rape. Rape's not funny." I say, "fuck you, I think it's hilarious. How do you like that?" I can prove to you that rape is funny. Picture Porky Pig raping Elmer Fudd. See, hey why do you think they call him "Porky," eh?

-George Carlin