Censorship: SavageStupidity.com vs. Talk Radio Networks, Inc.

censor

noun

a person who is authorized to read publications or correspondence or to watch theatrical performances and suppress in whole or in part anything considered obscene or politically unacceptable

verb

1: forbid the public distribution of; as of movies or newspapers [syn: ban]
2: subject to political, religious, or moral censorship; "This magazine is censored by the government"

Source: WordNet ® 1.6, © 1997 Princeton University

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=censor

Let us make this clear: SavageStupidity.com has not called, and will NEVER call, for the government to censor Savage, or in any way restrict his freedom of speech.

We, the authors and sympathetic readers of SavageStupidity.com, are simply exercising our right to speak our opinion about what Savage has to say - and doing so on the basis of his documented public statements. We are expressing these opinions to the public at large, and specifically to his advertisers, and making it clear to the latter that they will pay a price, in the form of lost business and customer good will, for choosing to advertise on "The Savage Nation".

This is the free market of ideas and economic choices in action, as American as Apple Pie. Not one single individual has been prevented from supporting Savage or his advertisers by our actions (indeed, some visitors to this site have been empowered to support them by the same list of advertisers we provide for the purpose of contacting advertisers) and not one single business or organization has been forced to abandon advertising on "The Savage Nation" by anything other than their own judgement as to whether the returns are worth the cost. Indeed, if you read the emails from some of Savage's advertisers (cf. this email from Swiss America CEO Craig Smith), it is absolutely clear that they cannot be convinced, either on moral or economic grounds, to cease advertising on "The Savage Nation". And that is their right. Just as it is my right to not buy from them, to tell them that I will not buy from them and to attempt to persuade others to do the same.

Talk Radio Networks, Inc., by contrast is attempting to use the coercive power of government (as defined above) to prevent the author of this site (and others) from speaking, and to prevent potential visitors to this site from ever learning of its existence or being able to read it.

And not only are they attempting to prevent the author from speaking via this web site, but from engaging in any form of speech at any point in the future in any forum that might be interpretable as "interfering with TRN's existing or future business relationships."

Savage, at the very worst, may still resort to shouting on a street corner, if he can persuade no one to advertise on his show, and is unable to obtain access to the airwaves, Internet, or print media for whatever reason. The author of this site, should TRN succeed, will not even be left with this option.

Talk Radio Networks, Inc. is attempting to use superior economic power to bully others into silence by the threat of personal harm in the form of monetary penalties of enormous proportions. That is censorship, and that makes Savage and Talk Radio Networks, Inc., the true hypocrites in this situation, and why we (and Public Citizen and David Bradford of Block & Jenner, our Chicago-area counsel) are fighting this lawsuit.