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The F-Bomb is Now OK

All you need is one station and one complaint.

Of course, I don't think anyone is saying that's not the case. When the WNBC weather said the F-bomb there would be tens of thousands of people watching (and that might be conservative) while WCSP has listenership in the maybe in thousands likely in the hundreds. so obviously there is a far greater chance of someone filing a complaint to the FCC about WNBC. It's possible that WCSP or other any other broadcaster had a board-op to dump out of the hearing.
 
Of course, I don't think anyone is saying that's not the case. When the WNBC weather said the F-bomb there would be tens of thousands of people watching (and that might be conservative) while WCSP has listenership in the maybe in thousands likely in the hundreds. so obviously there is a far greater chance of someone filing a complaint to the FCC about WNBC. It's possible that WCSP or other any other broadcaster had a board-op to dump out of the hearing.

Is WCSP truly live or does it run a 7-second delay? Normally, you'd think one would never be needed at a government function, but these are not normal times. Maybe the word was caught and bleeped before it made air. Good luck to us, though, in actually hearing from a poster who was tuned to the station at that very moment!
 
Is WCSP truly live or does it run a 7-second delay? Normally, you'd think one would never be needed at a government function, but these are not normal times. Maybe the word was caught and bleeped before it made air. Good luck to us, though, in actually hearing from a poster who was tuned to the station at that very moment!

I know someone that is in charge of a C-Span like channel at the state level, He said they run a delay at all times mainly for example if a protester is running around with a vulgar sign or yelling profanities. He said they can cut audio or switch video right away without any that going out onair. They wanted the broadcast to be like that of a football or baseball game when someone runs the the field, those broadcasters don't show it. Yes, at this point there is likely no poster here that heard the F-bomb on WCSP or anywhere else so we're all speculating what might of had happen.
 
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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/

Agreed. The hypocrisy comes through loud and clear! :mad:
 
I forgot to add this to my earlier post.

Its happening for years .I did a search on YouTube : News bloopers:F bombs .Also politicians cursing videos .including POTUS 45.

I agree with a couple earlier posts.It takes a complaint in order the FCC to look in to it.Also I agree on comments that cable channels are not in the same boat as OTA stations have on rules for indecent stuff .

Local newscast probably get away with it until granny and gramps makes a complaint about it.

As for the CBS Superbowl Janet Jackson stent as Mr Timberlake did the show and tell .I dont see what was the big deal since it was not a close up.

Again.Keep the time delay running or edit/bleep out on taped programming.Also dont forget to blur out the mouth .My hearing impaired friend see everything since he reads lips.
 
Again.Keep the time delay running or edit/bleep out on taped programming.Also dont forget to blur out the mouth .My hearing impaired friend see everything since he reads lips.

There is no delay that is fool proof. The way to prevent it is to not use this language near a live mic. For some reason people in the halls of government don't understand this. Yet they're quick to levy a major fine on someone when it serves their interest. The party in power is acting like there are no consequences. There are consequences for everything. That's the point of this thread.
 
Also dont forget to blur out the mouth .My hearing impaired friend see everything since he reads lips.

Surely the FCC isn't fining broadcasters over those incidents! Many times on baseball and football reaction shots, you'll see quarterback reactions to interceptions and pitcher reactions to home runs that consist of one inaudible, but clearly understandable, word -- even to those of us who are neither deaf or trained lip-readers. It's invariably the f or the s bomb. We recognize it because it's the way an overwhelming percentage of sports viewers react when bad things happen.
 
Surely the FCC isn't fining broadcasters over those incidents! Many times on baseball and football reaction shots, you'll see quarterback reactions to interceptions and pitcher reactions to home runs that consist of one inaudible, but clearly understandable, word -- even to those of us who are neither deaf or trained lip-readers. It's invariably the f or the s bomb. We recognize it because it's the way an overwhelming percentage of sports viewers react when bad things happen.
Isn't live sports exempt from the indecency rules?
 
I'm not aware of any such exemption. Just because stations don't get fined doesn't mean it's not against the law.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleeting_expletive


But if the expletive is unheard, can a penalty be imposed under any circumstances? Suppose a weather presenter drops his/her clicker, knows he/she's not supposed to swear on air, but mouths "s---" while bending down to pick up the device. Is a station going to be fined for that?

The whole thing is BS. "The children, the children, the children ... we must protect the children." From what? Protect ME from these latter-day Pharisees, sanctimonious hypocritical prudes, the whole lot.
 
I thought this issue was resolved some time ago. I remember in the early 2000s (post-Bono incident IIRC), local Rock stations playing the uncensored versions of songs nearly all hours of the day, and never getting fined for it to my knowledge. After the Janet Jackson incident, the stations backed off, out of an abundance of caution, and because the words were still generally deemed by community standards to be unsuitable for broadcast (and potentially advertiser kryptonite).

But my understanding was that, after the Bono ruling, the words themselves wouldn’t cause a fine, just if they were used in a context that was considered profane or obscene.
 
But my understanding was that, after the Bono ruling, the words themselves wouldn?€™t cause a fine, just if they were used in a context that was considered profane or obscene.

None of the individual circumstances have changed the one major factor whether the Commission takes action: 'Public Response'. Back in the 80's and 90's a group of Anita Bryant followers used to regularly flood the FCC with angry form letters and E-mail each time their group deemed something profane or unacceptable. The letters would frequently site chapter and verse on how some expletive or (what could be deemed) as sexually-related scene or show premise violated Indecency Rules. In many instances the Commission had no other recourse than to issue a Notice of Liability to many of the stations who ultimately aired the content.

Fast forward to 2019; many of those similar groups now live on line, paying less attention to the chore rallying the troops to issue complaints about broadcast-related events.
 
There is no delay that is fool proof. The way to prevent it is to not use this language near a live mic. For some reason people in the halls of government don't understand this. Yet they're quick to levy a major fine on someone when it serves their interest. The party in power is acting like there are no consequences. There are consequences for everything. That's the point of this thread.

Got a point there.....Cant be perfect listening to every second of whats coming out of the monitor speaker or headphones and push the bleep button.
 
Surely the FCC isn't fining broadcasters over those incidents! Many times on baseball and football reaction shots, you'll see quarterback reactions to interceptions and pitcher reactions to home runs that consist of one inaudible, but clearly understandable, word -- even to those of us who are neither deaf or trained lip-readers. It's invariably the f or the s bomb. We recognize it because it's the way an overwhelming percentage of sports viewers react when bad things happen.

Yes I agree.Yell and curse at the TV set as something went wrong.Maybe the TV will get smashed by the end of the game. Watched friends do it all the time since I'm not into the sports these days...
 
So tonight the president is speaking at a rally in Florida and in the middle of his speech he lets the "bs" word fly. There were a lot of kids in the shot. And the crowd applauds. I saw this on TV. Is this where we're at now? Is this now OK by the FCC's standards? If so, a lot of TV stations should demand refunds from fines they were charged. Howard Stern should demand an apology. Twenty years ago, he couldn't say that word on the public airwaves. Now the president says it, and a crowd applauds. Shouldn't stations bleep the word? Shouldn't the FCC fine stations that air such language? Or is it now OK since it's being done by the president? I can't even post this word on this site because it violates the TOS, but the president can say it on TV. Splain this one to me.

I want to know about this from a legal & media perspective. How do you deal with a president who has no filter? This might happen during a debate. This might happen during the State of the Union. This might happen when you least expect it. Is it censorship? I want to know.
 
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