A New York Times editorial states that WBAI, the flagship radio of “cocky resistance to government excess,” will not risk a 50th anniversary broadcast of the late poet Allen Ginsberg’s recording of “Howl.” The station fears that the Federal Communications Commission will issue a obscenity fine that might be large enough to bankrupt the “small-budget” station.

Allen Ginsberg was known for his bardic powers, who according to the editorial, “reigned as the raucous poet of American hippiedom and as a literary pioneer.” His masterwork “Howl” won a landmark censorship trial against the government fifty years ago.

In this effort at self-censorship, WBAI is not alone. Public broadcasting stations are also editing their documentaries, removing four-letter words from their programming.