College Radio Defense Fund

[raydofan]

I have taken another discussion and decided a sub-topic is worthy of its own thread.

Language in songs (played after hours) used to be of no concern. Now, there seems to be a moretorium on 'obscene lyrics and ideas' at any hour.
While a discussion of this idea is about 15 years too late, why hasn't there been a 'common fund' to defend college stations against FCC obscenity crackdown?


> Keep in mind: DJ's at WUSB have the
> freedom to play the music they want to play (as long as it
> meets FCC guidelines for indecency/obscenity).

Yeah, about that. This has been a question from at least the 70s and the WBAI case. Actually if you're familliar with WXPN (which actually is a commercially-formatted station in the non-com band) went from playing Ice-T rapping about putting an appendage through a car window (with full lyrics intact) to 3 chord gyno-rock. While this station is a strange animal-as that U-Penn has a business plan for the outlet-this station is an example of the ugliest corporatization of a 'college' station. This is a station whose licenseholder (I think the Board of Regents of the University of Pennsylvania.

It's possible that, if Ice-T or anyone else's lyric became a question, this well-funded station could have been on the front lines with a lot of back-end support. WXPN seems to have retreated into an easily supportable (and popular) format. Cases, such as the KBOO 'Your Revolution' fine, would have been pre-empted.

So, how about it? Why doesn't a general support system and fund exist? Why are licenseholders more willing to put programmers and jocks on the block than defend them?

OK, let 'er rip.

 

[ssnake]

> Language in songs (played after hours) used to be of no
> concern. Now, there seems to be a moretorium on 'obscene
> lyrics and ideas' at any hour.
> While a discussion of this idea is about 15 years too late,
> why hasn't there been a 'common fund' to defend college
> stations against FCC obscenity crackdown?

Obscenity is prohibited at all times! Indecent broadcasts are permitted only 10 pm - 6 am. See http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/obscene.html

It's my opinion that college radio should not be broadcasting profane material, since it is either funded with tax dollars or by a student body whose constituents may be offended.

Certainly accidents happen. But as a college station, you might not have only "radio friendly" material, which underscores the need for an effective screening policy.

 

[mlaura1224]

> I have taken another discussion and decided a sub-topic is
> worthy of its own thread.
>
> Language in songs (played after hours) used to be of no
> concern. Now, there seems to be a moretorium on 'obscene
> lyrics and ideas' at any hour.
> While a discussion of this idea is about 15 years too late,
> why hasn't there been a 'common fund' to defend college
> stations against FCC obscenity crackdown?
>
>
> > Keep in mind: DJ's at WUSB have the
> > freedom to play the music they want to play (as long as it
>
> > meets FCC guidelines for indecency/obscenity).
>
> Yeah, about that. This has been a question from at least the
> 70s and the WBAI case. Actually if you're familiar with
> WXPN (which actually is a commercially-formatted station in
> the non-com band) went from playing Ice-T rapping about
> putting an appendage through a car window (with full lyrics
> intact) to 3 chord gyno-rock. While this station is a
> strange animal-as that U-Penn has a business plan for the
> outlet-this station is an example of the ugliest
> corporatization of a 'college' station. This is a station
> whose licenseholder (I think the Board of Regents of the
> University of Pennsylvania.
>
> It's possible that, if Ice-T or anyone else's lyric became a
> question, this well-funded station could have been on the
> front lines with a lot of back-end support. WXPN seems to
> have retreated into an easily supportable (and popular)
> format. Cases, such as the KBOO 'Your Revolution' fine,
> would have been pre-empted.
>
> So, how about it? Why doesn't a general support system and
> fund exist? Why are licenseholders more willing to put
> programmers and jocks on the block than defend them?
>
> OK, let 'er rip.
>
First, let me say that WUSB is in violation of FCC rules concerning some songs played at night, regardless of safe harbor times. We have listened to the station a couple of times at night. I don't think the station General Manager is aware of what is happening. We have monitored another educational non-for-profit station in central long Island and found the contents to be in violation as well. Yes, mistakes do happen and broadcasters do sometimes go a little out of control, but it is up to management to enforce the content that goes over the air. You never know who is listening. Recently the FCC has been out on the Island. They have done several inspections on a couple of stations. As broadcasters we should be sensitive to the issue at hand.

 

[neo11]

> First, let me say that WUSB is in violation of FCC rules
> concerning some songs played at night, regardless of safe
> harbor times. We have listened to the station a couple of
> times at night. I don't think the station General Manager is
> aware of what is happening. We have monitored another
> educational non-for-profit station in central long Island
> and found the contents to be in violation as well. Yes,
> mistakes do happen and broadcasters do sometimes go a little
> out of control, but it is up to management to enforce the
> content that goes over the air. You never know who is
> listening. Recently the FCC has been out on the Island. They
> have done several inspections on a couple of stations. As
> broadcasters we should be sensitive to the issue at hand.
>
Please clarify.

 

[radiogeek07]

Ok. So, if it happens after 10:00 at night, nothing can happen even on a college station? This is of course assuming that the university has not set additional standards.

 

[ssnake]

> Ok. So, if it happens after 10:00 at night, nothing can
> happen even on a college station? This is of course
> assuming that the university has not set additional
> standards.

Assuming that the university has not set additional standards, you can broadcast indecent or profane material at night, as long as it is not obscene, as determined by the FCC. And context is key, so it's really up to the bureaucrats.

 

[mlaura1224]

> > First, let me say that WUSB is in violation of FCC rules
> > concerning some songs played at night, regardless of safe
> > harbor times. We have listened to the station a couple of
> > times at night. I don't think the station General Manager
> is
> > aware of what is happening. We have monitored another
> > educational non-for-profit station in central long Island
> > and found the contents to be in violation as well. Yes,
> > mistakes do happen and broadcasters do sometimes go a
> little
> > out of control, but it is up to management to enforce the
> > content that goes over the air. You never know who is
> > listening. Recently the FCC has been out on the Island.
> They
> > have done several inspections on a couple of stations. As
> > broadcasters we should be sensitive to the issue at hand.
> >
> Please clarify.
>
Sure, No problem. It was on WUSB. The radio program was called Street FM. One night I was listening and heard a couple of songs with the F-Bomb and S-Bomb dropped in the lyrics of a few rap songs played over the air. I know the word Niger can be used in a song to describe a persons ethnic background. Personally I find this very unnecessary, but it is of artistic expression by the Rap artist. The F word and S word I heard on the radio made me question the integrity of the show concerning rules and regs. I spoke to several other radio people, and they had the same feeling toward a possible violation. I am not trying to make waves. What the station does is up to them. I just think this one show didn't understand how far they can go. On a bright note, the station does have some very good programming for the most part. WUSB has a lot of listeners due to the unique programs they offer. The other station I heard did kind of the same thing. The song we heard had a few S-bombs in it. This station is a translator with small ERP. It is in the Babylon area. The calls escape my memory at the moment. (Old age) I hope this information helps.

 

[mlaura1224]

> > Ok. So, if it happens after 10:00 at night, nothing can
> > happen even on a college station? This is of course
> > assuming that the university has not set additional
> > standards.
>
> Assuming that the university has not set additional
> standards, you can broadcast indecent or profane material at
> night, as long as it is not obscene, as determined by the
> FCC. And context is key, so it's really up to the
> bureaucrats.
>
I agree with the following statement. Sometimes the rules can be vague. I always remember the three prong rule, seven dirty words and all that other stuff our broadcast professor gave us. I think the station should be radio friendly because it reflects the University as a whole. Stony Brook University is a very well known college regarding medical. I would be very surprised if these radio people where medical students? I am sure most students who attend the college are extremely intelligent, but sometimes a few irresponsible, and possibly immature students don't let the place shine. It is the bad image created by a few that get people to look down upon the station as a hole. I would hate to see that happen to USB, it is a station with so much great history! I hope the students know that it is a privilege to be on the air. It is all about positive presentation.