Hornell native became a famous advocate for the First Amendment, watch his 1991 speech to Libertarians
A COLUMN by Stephen Sprague, pictured is Burns from Alchetron.com
What this country needs today is an opinionated kid from Hornell who’d find the precisely correct way to remind even the tyrants that there was reason the right to freely speak our mind was the first and most important amendment to the Constitution.
This administration today enthusiastically threatens news providers with financial and political ruin, denying access to sources and stories in return for agreements to only report what the Whie House deems “good” stories. Look at what’s happening right now at the Pentagon or the (thankfully temporary) silencing of Jimmy Kimmel.
Sadly, Gene Burns passed away in 2013 but by then he had ascended to a nationally recognized champion of the First Amendment and the most successful of hundreds of radio practitioners who have worked in this part of the world.
Born in 1940, Gene grew up in Hornell and attended Rutgers University but gravitated to politics early in life. It was also early when he was stricken with arthritis that limited his posture and mobility. But he was gifted with a brilliant mind and a voice that would have made network announcers blush.
I know because I spent time working alongside Gene here in Bath. He was in his early 20’s; I was finishing high school. I wish now I had paid more attention.
It was the mid-60’s. Gene was the news director at what was then WFSR radio in Bath. He was, as our boss at the time confirmed, bold and virtually uncontrollable. The station itself was barely two years old, on the air only during daytime hours and, obviously, dependent on local opinions and moods.
Gene was never one to shroud his opinions. While that was often a sore spot for local radio, it’s what carried him into a stunning career as a radio talk show host. After a series of controversial reports on the Bath station, Gene moved through various stations as a talk show personality. At one point, he hosted a ratings-winning show in Baltimore where the station underwrote trips to Vietnam and the Middle East.
Typically outspoken, when he voiced his real concerns about Middle East policy after that trip in 1969, he was fired by that station. Gene moved to New York where he anchored a nationally-syndicated talk show for a number of years. Before being sidelined by medical problems, he spent many years at the helm of San Franciso’s most popular talk show.
Gene even came close to winning the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination in 1984. Though he bowed out of that race, in 1991 he addressed a national Libertarian gathering where he shared his beliefs about government’s role that fueled the party’s support of him.
Here’s that Hornell kid’s speech:
Throughout those careers, Gene fiercely fought to protect the right to free speech and expression of opinions. While spending many years as president of The National Association of Radio Talk Show Hosts, he led to the creation of their annual Freedom of Speech Award.
I’m certain Gene is today spinning in his grave over what’s happening to the right of free speech.
Today we see the very government pledged to protect that First Amendment right crusading to erode and nullify it. Worse yet, the industries dependent on it for their success – newspapers and broadcasters – have been cowed into submission and cowardice.
Where once the news media took pride in uncovering violations of public trust in elected office at every level, they now seem more devoted to their precious income. Where once, local papers and broadcasters dispatched reporters to bring real news that could shape community votes and opinion, we now see those kinds of stories only on the rare web sites like this, The Hornell Sun, and others where the sacred right to publish “real news” is still practiced.
Before talk radio, Gene was a relentless reporter, sometimes sharing questionable back-room stories and overheard conversations that brought shadows on local, small-town politics.
I’m convinced if Gene was still around, Steuben County taxpayers would never have been forced to pay legal costs for a lawsuit that resulted from a vindictive legislator’s attempt to bully the elected sheriff. Or if the local printed media had shared the whole story with readers.
Ironically, Gene’s professional career is mentioned many times on the Internet, including a lengthy Wikipedia profile (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Burns) but there’s no mention of his time at WFSR. There also exists now a Facebook group dedicated to “Twin Tier Radio Alumni,” where Gene has never been mentioned.
I’d like to change that and invite those who might still remember Gene to share stories. Personally, I still drink coffee the way he did – black with two sugars – because he shared his back then. After all, I was coming in to sign on the station at 6am. The coffee kept me awake.
Gene’s memory and lifelong goal should wake us all up to what we’re missing and what’s being threatened with the buy-offs and bullying of the news media. Demand more but above all, cherish the original promise and stop the attacks on free speech.
Stephen Sprague is a Bath NY resident, combat veteran, former Congressional staffer, and a retired TSA agent. You can reach him anytime, sgsprague@gmail.com
