Radio airwaves need to be freer for public W hen Slobodan Milosevic's government shut down its transmitter, independent radio station B92 used microphones and speakers to broadcast from open windows to people in the street. With powerful public support and access to international free radio, B92 continued its fight against the propaganda of Milosevic. But Yugoslavia is not the only country to face limits on expression. The United States' regulation of radio also limits the power of its citizens to freely speak over the airwaves.
Radio plays a large part in struggles for freedom around the world.
Radio Free Europe, which helped numerous countries escape dictatorial rule, is now supported by those same nations. In this country the issue is not achieving free speech, but how we decide to nurture it. Supporters for increased public access to radio are protesting exorbitant federal licensing fees and calling for Federal Communication Commission reform or state regulation. The FCC is in danger of weakening the First Amendment's statement of the right to free speech by making access to radio dependent on the wealth of the citizen. Free radio does exist in the United States.