Censorship of popular music under discussion at Ball State

• Four out of 10 Americans feel that music should be censored, a First Amendment scholar and Ball State University alumnus said on Thursday during a panel discussion.
• In the discussion titled, "Exploring Freedom of Expression Through Music," Gene Policinski, executive director of the First Amendment Center in Nashville, addressed Ball State students.
• Along with him were Drew Deboy, music director of Ball State's WCRD radio station, and facilitator Warren Watson, director of the Journalism Institute For Digital Education, Activities and Scholarships at Ball State.
• The speakers looked at the issue of censorship of controversial lyrics in popular music through the prism of the First Amendment.
• "People care about the First Amendment if it becomes a part of their lives, and music is a part of a lot of lives," Watson said.
• Two years ago, radio stations in San Antonio, Texas, pulled the song "Red Ragtop" by Tim McGraw because it implied abortion.
• Singer John Kay's drug-related song "The Pusher" sparked controversy in South Carolina because it included a swear word against God.
• When he met a local police chief and mayor at the airport on the way to his concert, they forbade him to sing the controversial song.
• During the concert, Kay told the audience he would exclude the phrase to avoid offending local Baptists.
• "Some people feel strongly that those kind of controversial lyrics -- swear words and sexual innuendos -- should be censored," Watson said.
• "Other people believe that music is the form of expression."
• The Dixie Chicks also stirred up a controversy when in London they denounced America's involvement in the war in Iraq by saying they were ashamed that President George W. Bush was from Texas.
• The response by media after the Sept. 11 attacks mirrored the government's push in 1970 during the Vietnam War to remove songs with drug connotations.