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The F-Bomb is Now OK

T

TheBigA

Imagine being Howard Stern or Drake when you find out that the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee just dropped the F word during live TV coverage of the William Barr hearings today.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/watch-lindsey-graham-f-bomb-barr-testimony

The courts have ruled that indecency is based on community standards. So the bar (so to speak) has now been set that one can use this language on live TV. So if during tonight's Billboard Music Awards, such language is used by a rapper or a rock star, it's now OK. Especially since the Senator used it at 10AM.

We have a president who says BS (the full word, not the letters) and a senator who says the f-word. What does this say about community standards today? If I aired the Senate hearings today, and one of my listeners complains to the FCC, what is my defense? Or will no one complain because of the context? And if so, why is this context permissible, and it's not when sung by a rap star on a live awards show? There was nothing newsworthy about it. These texts are three years old.

https://www.freedomforuminstitute.org/about/faq/how-does-the-fcc-define-indecent-speech/
 
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TheBigA said:
Imagine being Howard Stern or Drake when you find out that the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee just dropped the F word during live TV coverage of the William Barr hearings today.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/watch-lindsey-graham-f-bomb-barr-testimony

The courts have ruled that indecency is based on community standards. So the bar (so to speak) has now been set that one can use this language on live TV. So if during tonight's Billboard Music Awards, such language is used by a rapper or a rock star, it's now OK. Especially since the Senator used it at 10AM.

We have a president who says BS (the full word, not the letters) and a senator who says the f-word. What does this say about community standards today? If I aired the Senate hearings today, and one of my listeners complains to the FCC, what is my defense? Or will no one complain because of the context? And if so, why is this context permissible, and it's not when sung by a rap star on a live awards show? There was nothing newsworthy about it. These texts are three years old.

https://www.freedomforuminstitute.org/about/faq/how-does-the-fcc-define-indecent-speech/
Click to expand...

Adam Schiff would say, "It's not OK!". :)
 
Personally I'll stick with the consummate pro Vin Scully.

"I was brought up in this business being taught that you never used those words
on the air, and I'm not about to start using them now".

Not a good indicator of where our society is headed.
 
I guess it stands to reason that the people who approve the budget of the regulative agency enforcing obscenity laws, get a pass for causing licensee's to violate obscenity regulations. But just let Janet Jackson show some nipple during Super Bowl? All those O&O and affiliates had to get their lawyers cued up to defend themselves.
 
Kelly A said:
All those O&O and affiliates had to get their lawyers cued up to defend themselves.
Click to expand...

The word here is precedent. So we tabulate the number of radio & TV stations that ran those hearings live, aired the word, and we come up with a number that can be used the next time some religious activist complains about a Drake song. The issue isn't who says it, but how many stations aired it.
 
The way things are today.The late great George Carlin will be happy the way his almost 7 bad words now can be said on the air.
The soaps were almost xxx rated as they had everybody in bed years ago.I say why not.Most of the older generation that did not like the bad words and more likely complain are leaving us as they pass on.


Meantime I'm not a fan of the cursing around kids but now its probably to late to change anything.The best thing is have the time delay on anything that airs.
 
The kids hear far worse at school on the playground. Why do we have the need to shelter what they see on TV. These indecency rules are long outdated and it's time to loosen the standards a bit.

Now back to what Graham said, most of the coverage was all on cable where that language is allowed.
 
Don CT said:
Do the networks really care about these hearings anymore?
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Do they care? Who knows. As I've said in other threads, they see it as providing a service for their affiliates.

But they do offer long-form coverage of most major hearings. NPR sometimes provides hosted coverage of these things. Its usually available to stations as unhosted.
 
TheBigA said:
Do they care? Who knows. As I've said in other threads, they see it as providing a service for their affiliates.

But they do offer long-form coverage of most major hearings. NPR sometimes provides hosted coverage of these things. Its usually available to stations as unhosted.
Click to expand...
The affiliates would rather sell advertising not not get blown out by 5 hours of congressional hearings.
 
Don CT said:
The affiliates would rather sell advertising not not get blown out by 5 hours of congressional hearings.
Click to expand...

So you're telling me no one carried this live on the radio? How do you know?

NPR stations don't sell advertising. And if they just carried the opening statements, it would have been less than half an hour.

All it takes is one complaint from one listener to the FCC, and there's the potential for a fine.
 
TheBigA said:
So you're telling me no one carried this live on the radio? How do you know?

NPR stations don't sell advertising. And if they just carried the opening statements, it would have been less than half an hour.

All it takes is one complaint from one listener to the FCC, and there's the potential for a fine.
Click to expand...

Does C-SPAN still have a radio station in D.C.? SiriusXM used to carry it, but it was dropped years ago. I would imagine the hearing was carried on that FM, if it still exists.
 
I don't mind swear words heard on TV as the rules are outdated the supreme court in 2012 threw out the outdated rules meaning broadcast TV can't be fine by The FCC any more no matter what groups like The PTC say that they won which they didn't as the headlines stated when the supreme court threw out Billboard Awards fine Bono & Janet Jackson boobgate fine. Which I believe no one saw live I didn't until the next day more talked about boobgate than the game. I don't believe in fines since that is censorship and is wrong on so many levels and it isn't '50's, '60's when it was just 3 channels on TV.
 
TheBigA said:
You don't think some news/talk radio stations ran it live? At least the opening statements?
Click to expand...

Probably only public stations. The commercial news/talk stations have car dealer ads and investment infomercials to run. They don't want to burn that time letting a bunch of Congressmen bloviate. Time is money.
 
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Usually the tv networks and radio news networks would send out press releases if they were sending out feeds and I couldn't find any for this hearing so if there were stations carrying it live the numbers would be small and inconsequential.

Far more people likely heard a weatherman for WNBC drop the f-bomb during a local cut-in during the Today show a few days ago. https://www.thewrap.com/wnbc-weatherman-drops-f-bomb-on-live-television-video/ it remains to be seen if anyone files a complaint to the FCC.
 
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