Nerd:

By your definition if a DJ wanted to play heavy metal music on a Country station, then their rights to freedom of speech are being violated. I would disagree. I'm simply saying that the people who own the station, whether it be a small group or a large corporation have the right to determine what direction their radio station will take. Their are rules to be followed because of the Public Trust that you talked about but by NOT playing Dixie Chicks CD's, they are not violating any of those. The Dixie Chicks used the fact that they are popular enough to attract huge audiences to make a public political statement, the folks who manage the station used the fact that they have a huge listening audience to make theirs. You may argue that there is a difference that Maines statement was off the cuff and the radio station's was pre-meditated but either way, the statements were made.

I think my main point is that if the Dixie Chicks have the right to make statements like they did (and I certainly believe that they do), then the folks managing a radio station have the right to make that decision that Dixie Chicks songs will not be played on their station.
I don't think I disagree with you as much as I think I'm looking at this from a different angle.

I do appreciate your two cents.....   :)

Frank