Illinois Family Institute’s David Smith Honored with Family Research Council Award
The FRC award recognizes Smith’s efforts to clean up public broadcasts and “[affirm] the right of the American people to protect the airwaves in the public interest.”
The Family Research Council presented Illinois Family Institute’s Senior Policy Analyst, David E. Smith, with the “Family, Faith, and Freedom Award” on Friday for his work against indecent broadcasts.
The award states: “A passionate heart for the well being of children and the quality of community life prompted David Smith to take on the tide of broadcast indecency in the Chicago area.”
“In so doing, he not only affirmed the right of the American people to protect the airwaves in the public interest, but he also honed the duty of every citizen to raise a voice of conscience. With enduring admiration for his courage and conviction,… Family Research Council is honored to present David Smith with the Family, Faith and Freedom Award.”
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Smith has persistently campaigned against inappropriate content in public broadcasting. Most notably, Smith filed seventy complaints with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the prevalence of vulgar material in Chicago shock-jock Erich “Mancow” Mueller’s morning radio program.
Smith’s efforts have resulted in fines against the owner of the program, Emmis Corporation, totaling $300,000 and an agreement by Emmis Corporation to clean up their stations.
Smith commented, “The goal of the Mancow project was to expose the prevalence of indecent broadcasts—and the inaction of the FCC.”
“To some extent we were successful: recent Mancow programs haven’t been nearly as sexually explicit as they were in the past, and the FCC showed it is starting to get serious about punishing gross indecency.”
Peter LaBarbera, executive director of the Illinois Family Institute (IFI), said that Smith’s successful efforts against Mancow’s program is “living proof of the idea that one person can make a difference.”
“So many people complain about the garbage on the airwaves; Dave did something about it. I hope and pray more Americans follow his example,” said LaBarbera. “We are grateful to Family Research Council for recognizing Dave Smith, and for the tremendous work they do in Washington to protect families.”
