European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 23, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Acc should turn Down its heat against Stern by Nicholas Lemann special  Washington Post has the . Government Ever undertaken a More elaborate Effort  mute the voice of an individual citizen than the Federal communications commission current Campaign against Howard Stern the bad boy of radio and Cable television during the past year or so the acc has levied More than a million dollars in fines against Stern s employer Infinity broadcasting has threatened  revoke Infinity s broadcasting License and most recently has held up the largest acquisition package in the history of pm radio Infinity s Purchase of three stations for $170 million because of its objections  Stern. All this has taken acc obscenity enforcement from the wrist slapping realm of warnings and thou Sand Dollar fines where it has Long dwelt into big time big Money meddling. Judging from sketchy news reports the wellspring of the acc s anti Stern zealotry is a single commissioner James Quello some of the other commission ers have begun  distance themselves from the Strat egy of All out War at the corporate level that Quello apparently favors. Still the Issue has been joined and it s strange that it has evoked any reaction from civil libertarians. The Stern Case throws into Sharp Relief the most troubling aspect of broadcasting regulation which the acc has usually been Able  elide. The airwaves Are treated As a Public Utility partly because it has been technologically impossible  allow completely open Access  them. Therefore broadcasting is the Only part of the american press that is licensed and regulated by the Federal government if the govern ment Ever decided  abrogate Freedom of the press broadcasting would be the obvious place  Start. That s Why during watergate when the Nixon administration wanted  go after the Washington Post its target was going  be the Post co s Broad casting properties there was nothing it could do  the newspaper when the acc has used its editorial Power on broadcasters it has done so with restraint and  Ward the end of keeping obscenity off the airwaves especially at times when children might be listening. But Howard Stern provides a Tough Case like Many comedians while he is often obscene he also often engages in political commentary and the two Are nearly inextricable. Here s an example quoted by the acc in its complaint against him aids baby come Here you know the big know nothing Barbara Bush. Can even speak up  her husband about abortion. Anyway so i Reading the people Magazine then i get upset by that so i Lay Down and i figure Well i gotta  Stern and Infinity do not make Good free speech poster children. They Are very Rich. Rather than being lonely outsiders they Are playing the washing ton game expertly having hired Patton Boggs and blow As their lawyers and refused  pay the acc s fines so that the Agency is almost forced  overplay its hand. The head of Infinity Mel Karmazin manifestly cares Only about making Money rather than constitutional issues. Stern uses the acc s enmity As a Selling Point so far rather than silencing him the Agency has Only made him More popular. Still in an atmosphere thick with false claims of censorship when Stern cries censorship he is actually right. In his Case the government by virtue of its licensing Power Over the airwaves is Able  attempt  get him  clean up his act in a Way that would be impossible in any medium but broadcasting. Even though much of Stern s Appeal comes from Howard Stern counters with heavyweight lawyers. His ability  recreate the thought Content of a 14 year old boy unfiltered by the superego i Don let  own boys listen  him. This is quite easy  accomplish far easier than it is for   control what they watch on television. Radio is now essentially an automotive medium so it s a pretty simple matter  keep Power Over the dial in the hands of people with Driver s licenses. Back in 1959, the acc threatened  revoke the License of a station in Denver after one of its announcers said on the air say did you hear about the Guy who goosed the ghost and got a handful of Sheet the announcer was promptly fired and the station got  keep its License. Obviously times have changed the combination of looser social mores and a rapidly proliferating broadcasting world makes policing the airwaves much More difficult than it used  be. At the current moment cultural conservatism is Riding High even among liberals nearly everybody is horrified by the breakdown of tradition Al values in the society. It is tempting  look on rid Ding television and radio of filth As a Noble cause something that will make the environment in which our children grow up healthier. Instead we d do better  think of protecting Chil Dren from obscenity As something government can do very effectively any longer but families can and should. The much greater danger is the Federal government s wading into the area of demanding whole Sale editorial changes from broadcasters and being willing  use its full Powers of fining licensing and acquisition approval  do so. Because the object is the press the extent of those Powers is frightening. The acc should tread lightly. Nicholas Lemann is a National correspondent for the Atlantic monthly when writing this Doc it s a matter of life and death by Kevin Cowherd the Baltimore Sun if or. Jack Kevorkian wrote an advice column dear or. Kevorkian Melanie and i were Best friends through out High school and College and shared Man wonderful moments. She is getting married in a few months yesterday i found out that she asked Lisa  be her maid of Honor. I am Hurt and embarrassed. Should i just Swallow  Pride and attend the wedding and pretend that everything is All right Rita t., san Antonio or. Kevorkian responds  dear woman what you Are enduring is the unendurable. Or. Jack read your letter and within seconds was reduced  great wracking sobs. The room grew cold. A thick dark Cloud of gloom and despair descended Over . Fortunately there is a Way out of your misery. Do you have Access  an automobile and a garage with poor ventilation Legal technicalities in your state prevent  from being More forthcoming. Soak some towels and place them Over any structural openings  prevent fumes from escaping. God Speed you on your Sweet journey. Dear or. Kevorkian i am 19 years old and so is  Boyfriend Fred  at a fraternity party last week i found him All Over this Bimbo kissing and groping her. This is the third time i be caught him with someone else. He says he loves  but i not so sure. Your opinion please. Martha m., Baltimore or. Kevorkian responds when or. Jack was your age he too was involved in an unfortunate affair of the heart. Sylvia was the Little tramp s name. It turned out she was seeing a muscular linebacker on the football team while or. Jack diligently studied night after night for his pre med courses. Obviously there was Only one thing  do. Slipping into the gymnasium boiler room one night i tied a length of rope  one of the ceiling pipes fashioned a noose with the other end and climbed up on chair. Unfortunately the rope was made from an inferior hemp and broke soon after i jumped. When i came  instead of finding myself in the arms of a Loving Angel i was being shaken by a frightened Jani Tor with garlic breath. Now for the Good news the rope made today is much sturdier. And there Are exposed ceiling pipes everywhere. I envy you. You go  a place of eternal Light an peace. Dear or. Kevorkian at a recent cocktail party  husband sol insisted the toilet paper in one s bathroom should in Roll from the top. I said it s just the opposite. Several friends agreed with . Who s right Ellen a Lewiston . Or. Kevorkian responds  god woman How do you stand it a bitter tyrannical husband who Micro manages your life virulently anti semitic friends Days of unrelieved Monotony broken Only by scatological discussions conducted through a numb ing alcoholic Haze. I near Niagara Falls there is a secluded Bluff a patrolled by Park rangers on the East Side of the Gorge. The Elevation is nearly 200 feet in a matter of seconds your pain would be Over note because of the volume of mail or. Kevorkian regrets that he cannot personally appear at the door of each and every person who write tin Page 20 sunday january 23, 1994