I am becoming a bit less sanguine about the new "zero tolerance" broadcast atmosphere. Yesterday the FCC went pretty nuts with the fines and the condemnations:
- The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday overruled its staff and declared that an expletive uttered by rock star Bono on NBC last year was both indecent and profane. The agency made it clear that virtually any use of the F[uck]-word was inappropriate for over-the-air radio and television.
"The 'F[uck]-word' is one of the most vulgar, graphic and explicit descriptions of sexual activity in the English language," the commission said Thursday. "The fact that the use of this word may have been unintentional is irrelevant; it still has the same effect of exposing children to indecent language."
....But the commissioners did not propose a fine for Bono's expletive during the 2003 Golden Globe Awards because, they said, they had never before said that virtually any use of the F[uck]-word violated its rules.
Indeed, the commission specifically rejected earlier findings that occasional use of the F[uck]-word was acceptable, including a ruling by its enforcement bureau last October that Bono's comment was not indecent or obscene because he did not use the word to describe a sexual act.
....The decision also marked the first time that the FCC cited a four-letter word as profane; the commission previously equated profanity with language challenging God's divinity.
NBC said in a statement: "We believe the commission made the right decision in not fining us over the regrettable Bono incident. As we've previously said, Bono's utterance was unacceptable and we regret it happened."
In another decision Thursday, the FCC proposed fining Infinity Broadcasting the maximum $27,500 for a Stern show broadcast July 26, 2001, on WKRK-FM in Detroit. The FCC received a complaint from a Detroit listener about a show that featured discussions about sexual practices and techniques.
The commission also affirmed a $7,000 fine for indecency first leveled in 2000 against Infinity station WLLD in Holmes Beach, Fla., for a live hip-hop concert featuring references to oral sex.
....The FCC also proposed fining a subsidiary of Clear Channel, the nation's largest radio station chain, the maximum $55,000 for a broadcast on two Florida radio stations, WAVW in Stuart and WCZR in Vero Beach, where the host conducted an interview with a couple allegedly having sex.
Clear Channel executive vice president Andrew Levin said, "We're as determined as ever to make sure that we don't have any violations in the future."
Article comments
1 - bhw
Didn't Bono say something benign, like "It's a fucking honor" or something like that? I mean, he didn't curse *at* anyone.
And the Howard stuff seems pretty tame by today's standards. And it's OLD. I think it's from a show from 2001.
If that doesn't give credence to the idea that Howard is being chased because of things he's said about Bush lately ....
In general, I go back and forth on this issue. I don't think the FCC should be the language and/or thought police, ever. But you can't filter out the radio airwaves like you can now do with TV and parental controls, so how do you keep your kids from tuning in to stuff that's truly inappropriate for their age? You simply cannot be with them all the time, like on the school bus.
I mind it less when a company sets its own standards than when the FCC does it for all of us. But I still mind it if the company is huge and powerful and can control access to multiple media outlets.
See? I'm all over the place on this one. I'm having a hard time balancing my belief in complete freedom of speech with my desire not to have my kids hear crap on the radio.
2 - Eric Olsen
Bono said "it's fucking brillinat" to win the award. That was why they didn't find him in violation before, but now they have changed their minds. That's the part I am now becomng concerned about.
3 - bhw
That and the fact that they're drudging up stuff that's a few years old to apply fines to. That frightens me a bit.
Here's a pretty good article on Salon about the situation. In particular, it describes how Bono's comment really *doesn't* fit the FCC's definition of both obscene and indecent, even though they're now calling it that.
Here's a quote about how the FCC initially decided Bono's f-word wasn't obscene or indecent:
The FCC has also considered the full context to be of great importance and established three key factors: "(1) the explicitness or graphic nature of the description or depiction of sexual or excretory organs or activities; (2) whether the material dwells on or repeats at length descriptions of sexual or excretory organs or activities; (3) whether the material appears to pander or is used to titillate, or whether the material appears to have been presented for its shock value."
And then there's this:
It's interesting to note that upon being named the FCC chairman by President Bush in 2001, Powell complained to reporters, "There's a lot of garbage on television. There are a lot of things children shouldn't see." But he stressed, "I don't know that I want the government as my nanny."
4 - Roger
To me it's blatant censorship by the
FCC. We're now back to 1984 instead of
2004. I've noticed this "Janet Paranoia"
spreading beyond Radio and TV. Let's check back two years from now and see if our kids are less worldly and more wholesome. I doubt it.
Oh yeah, I got a Hummer last night. Blowjob or Automobile?