| SpectralJulianIsNotDead |
07.15.2010 05:57 PM |
The problem being cited isn't the actual banning of profanity, it's that the law is very hazy, there are no clear lines drawn.
We talked about this a lot when I was a college DJ.
Here's what the FCC website is:
Quote:
Objectionable Programming
Programming Inciting “Imminent Lawless Action.” The Supreme Court has held that the government may curtail speech if it is both: (1) intended to incite or produce “imminent lawless action;” and (2) likely to “incite or produce such action.” Even when this legal test is met, any review that might lead to a curtailment of speech is generally performed by the appropriate criminal law enforcement authorities, not by the FCC.
Obscene, Indecent, or Profane Programming. Although, for the reasons discussed earlier, the Commission is generally prohibited from regulating broadcast content, the courts have held that the FCC’s regulation of obscene and indecent programming is constitutional, because of the compelling societal interests in protecting children from potentially harmful programming and supporting parents’ ability to determine the programming to which their children will be exposed at home.
Obscene material is not protected by the First Amendment and cannot be broadcast at any time. To be obscene, the material must have all of the following three characteristics:
an average person, applying contemporary community standards, must find that the material, as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest;
the material must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable law; and
the material, taken as a whole, must lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
Indecent material is protected by the First Amendment, so its broadcast cannot constitutionally be prohibited at all times. However, the courts have upheld Congress' prohibition of the broadcast of indecent material during times of the day in which there is a reasonable risk that children may be in the audience, which the Commission has determined to be between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Indecent programming is defined as “language or material that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium, sexual or excretory organs or activities.” Broadcasts that fall within this definition and are aired between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. may be subject to enforcement action by the FCC.
Profane material also is protected by the First Amendment, so its broadcast cannot be outlawed entirely. The Commission has defined such program matter to include language that is both “so grossly offensive to members of the public who actually hear it as to amount to a nuisance” and is sexual or excretory in nature or derived from such terms. Such material may be the subject of possible Commission enforcement action if it is broadcast within the same time period applicable to indecent programming: between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.
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So when I asked the station manager if I could broadcast a song with a certain word in it, he'd say with a smile "does it appeal to the prurient interest?"
And half the time the answer is "how the fuck should I know?"
Since the statute of limitations is up, I accidentally did play songs with an f-bomb here and there sometimes. Our records were supposed to have songs with swearing NFAP. . . but sometimes they weren't, and sometimes we missed stuff.
I got decent at censoring on the fly by hitting the cue button rapidly.
At the very least, I'd hope this repeal will force the FCC to use some clear language as to what is and what isn't tolerated. |
