Snapshots and Soundbites From Turning Up the Volume

"Freedom of speech is the linchpin on which other rights depend," said Joan Bertin (left) at NCAC’s 30th Anniversary celebration, as she thanked NCAC friends for their support.

Joel Hollander (right), President and COO of Infinity Broadcasting, said, "The FCC’s efforts to tighten regulation of broadcasters under its power to enforce standards of decency is deceptive. Most of us would like to see broadcasters exercise ‘good taste’ in programming. The problem is that we can’t always agree on what is tasteful. Besides, for adults and some teenagers, taste is not the only, or even the most important consideration. The media should also make us think, excite our passions, provoke, stimulate, inform, and challenge us. At Infinity we respect the intelligence of our audience and their right to make their own decisions and to supervise their children according to their own views."

Chip Gibson (above, with colleagues), President and Publisher of Random House Children’s Books, told the group that "These are dangerous times for books that dare to disturb the universe. And children’s books in particular are constant targets of book-banning efforts in school systems and public libraries. We at Random House are totally committed in our support of those who stand against censorship. We are totally committed to our authors, their courage in tackling hard questions in their books, and the respect they have for the young people who read their books in search of identity, their place in society, and meaning for their lives."

Pictured here (right) is a bookmark from Random House’s First Amendment First Aid Kit. On the reverse is a list of Random House most frequently challenged childrens’ authors and their "books that dare to disturb the universe."