Some critics claim radio talk hosts operate without limits, but a couple of them recently found out just where the limits are.
New Hampshire conservative talk host Doug Lambert has apologized for calling the chairman of the state Democratic Party a “faggot,” but that hasn’t stopped Nassau Broadcasting’s WEMJ-AM Laconia from dropping his show and the Laconia Daily Sun from dropping his newspaper column.
Lambert made the comment off the air, but while his live stream from the studio was still on. He apologized in his Internet blog, the GraniteGrok, which is now his only media outlet. Lambert said “my passion got the best of me” as he lashed out against the party leader, who is gay, and led the successful effort to have gay marriage legalized in New Hampshire.
Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, WTAQ-AM Green Bay host Jerry Bader returned to the air this week after a two week suspension by Midwest Communications. He had been pulled off the air after posted a story on his online blog asserting that the state’s lieutenant governor had dropped her campaign for the top spot due to marital problems. She denied that was the case and the station retracted the story.
Bader’s show is also back on the air at WHBL-AM Sheboygan, which is also owned by Midwest Communications.
RBR-TVBR observation: This is precisely why the Fairness Doctrine is not needed, even if it were constitutional, which it is not. The licensees of most radio and television stations are responsible and do know how to have a public forum that encourages lively debate, but still operates within the bounds of decency.
