• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

I have a question

The last three messages posted here laid down side by side express the width and breadth of American thinking today.

If you don't like the way we talk here, then you should move somewhere else.

If you don talk the way my mama taught me to talk, then your mama was defective.

Those of us who are older (American) adults were raised in a world where we understood the airwaves were owned by the public and were to be treated that way. And yet, we have sat here and watched Washington change the system to one where we AUCTION off the airwaves and today's Conservative and Libertarian commentators are on the talk shows saying: Today, my company OWNS this channel. The government sold it to us. You 'public owns the airwaves' people are out of touch and behind the times.

Pity the poor broadcaster of today. He/she should be focused on serving the community and making a buck and now they will have to stay up late tonight trying to sort out: Who is 'the god' of acceptable language today that I must adhere to, and who will be 'the god' of acceptable language tomorrow morning when I wake up, and how will I identify who has become the 'new god' of language.

On that happy note I am going to hunt through my book collection. Forty years ago I was broadcasting in Indianapolis and I bought a book by Elton Trueblood, who at that time as an EARLHAM COLLEGE professor, was something of a national spokesman on Christian ethics. I think it time I revisit his book. How ironic that this discussion topic should trigger that.
 
grilledcheesedelicious said:
actually, the FCC rules about obscenity, profanity, and indecency are pretty difficult to decipher. Words like the f-word are allowed to be played in songs from 10pm-6am as long as the context is not obscene. djs are never allowed to say obscene, indecent, or profane words. WECIs obscenity, profanity, and indecency policy is actually more strict than the FCCs. here is a link to the rules:
http://www.fcc.gov/eb/oip/FAQ.html#TheLaw
Click to expand...

Actually "the law" talks about radio communications, which really includes the CB Radio and Telephones. Have you listened to CB Radio lately? i grew up listening to the CB, as my dad had several. Back then people were respectful and polite of the strangers on the other end. However today, The Citizen's Band, is over populated by insulting, cussing, and disrespectful operators.

I think when it gets down to it, many in our culture have embraced the immoral and unethical standards, and they shame those who want morality and ethics, using censorship as a prejudice.
 
Charlie Profit said:
Actually "the law" talks about radio communications, which really includes the CB Radio and Telephones. Have you listened to CB Radio lately? i grew up listening to the CB, as my dad had several. Back then people were respectful and polite of the strangers on the other end. However today, The Citizen's Band, is over populated by insulting, cussing, and disrespectful operators.

I think when it gets down to it, many in our culture have embraced the immoral and unethical standards, and they shame those who want morality and ethics, using censorship as a prejudice.
Click to expand...

Ah, Charlie, my friend. Me thinks you over romanticize the past. I remember in the mid-70's throwing the kids in the back of the station wagon and heading for grandma's house 800 miles away. The speed limits had come down for fuel conservation and we were all pushing the limits of the speedometer and glued to our CB's in hopes of getting the word on 'Ol Smokey'. I distinctly remember turning the CB down low or completely off because of language.

I haven't listened lately. I will trust you that it has reached even new lows, but 1975 and the CB was not a Sunday School Class event. (God's name was mentioned from time to time, however.)
 
Here's what I said. "Wow! I didn't have to go to an expensive college to learn that the F word is a bad word. My mom taught me this years before that. It's not my job to argue with you and try to teach you what mom should have."

This has a different meaning and I did not say this. "If you don talk the way my mama taught me to talk, then your mama was defective."

Didn't sat that. But, reminds me of American politics.

But now I will say please get a clue that the F word is a bad word before you ask me for a job in this field
cause my mom aint gonna pay your FCC fine.
 
Boy, you just can't trust those damn Quakers at Earlham! Now they're using that 400-watt flamethrower of theirs to spew filth over not quite half of Wayne County; before you know it they'll be holding End The War rallies downtown. Peace Mongers!

Here's a wild hunch. Either the President of the college is employing "benign neglect," figuring correctly that WECI has a tiny audience comprised mostly of like-minded souls who enjoy the stuff they hear, or--befitting a nationally-ranked Liberal Arts college--he/she could be a champion of free speech and feels that the experience gained through participatory media is great mental exercise. Or maybe he/she has been to the Big City and knows that the stuff the kids play on WECI is the same stuff top-rated radio stations play in major markets.

And that, therefore, there is no danger to the college's little FM license.

But I'll betcha a buck that he/she has consulted with the school's attorneys and/or DC counsel and isn't losing any sleep over it.

Neither should y'all.
 
ratingsgeek said:
Boy, you just can't trust those damn Quakers at Earlham! Now they're using that 400-watt flamethrower of theirs to spew filth over not quite half of Wayne County; before you know it they'll be holding End The War rallies downtown. Peace Mongers!

Here's a wild hunch. Either the President of the college is employing "benign neglect," figuring correctly that WECI has a tiny audience comprised mostly of like-minded souls who enjoy the stuff they hear, or--befitting a nationally-ranked Liberal Arts college--he/she could be a champion of free speech and feels that the experience gained through participatory media is great mental exercise. Or maybe he/she has been to the Big City and knows that the stuff the kids play on WECI is the same stuff top-rated radio stations play in major markets.

And that, therefore, there is no danger to the college's little FM license.

But I'll betcha a buck that he/she has consulted with the school's attorneys and/or DC counsel and isn't losing any sleep over it.

Neither should y'all.
Click to expand...

You're assuming the powers that be KNOW of this problem. I doubt the President of Earlham listens to the school station - especially since they're playing "the same stuff top-rated radio stations play in major markets."

A visit/letter from the FCC WILL cause him to not only lose sleep, but spend some time in the school's attorney's office trying to figure out how much they're going to need in donations to pay for this 'free speech.'

The smaller the station/wattage, the easier/quicker you'll lose your license.
 
Goat Rodeo Cowboy said:
Ah, Charlie, my friend. Me thinks you over romanticize the past. I remember in the mid-70's throwing the kids in the back of the station wagon and heading for grandma's house 800 miles away. The speed limits had come down for fuel conservation and we were all pushing the limits of the speedometer and glued to our CB's in hopes of getting the word on 'Ol Smokey'. I distinctly remember turning the CB down low or completely off because of language.

I haven't listened lately. I will trust you that it has reached even new lows, but 1975 and the CB was not a Sunday School Class event. (God's name was mentioned from time to time, however.)
Click to expand...

LOL...I am quite possibly romanticizing the past, however...we did take those summer vacations too, and my dad would tune to channel 19. He even let me talk, "breaker one-nine", under his license (something they should bring back for both the CB and Terrestrial Radio!). I was taught the value of "the public airwaves" and how to respect others on the air too, "over".

I honestly don't remember the truckers yelling obscenities at each other like I have recently heard. Maybe "damn" and "hell", but I doubt "f*&k", or the bad "c" word that rhymes with bunt, or else my dad would have turned it off too. And while there may have been some language, there was more camaraderie between the truckers, than antagonism. But this is really not the forum for this discussion.
 
As someone with experience running a student newspaper, I am aware that there is a general legal principle that essentially says if college administrators take a consistently hands-off approach regarding regulation of content, it can greatly reduce the college's own liability in various cases. It doesn't really reduce the liability of the student staff though.

And if I did have a radio station instead of a newspaper, I would make every DJ, paid or not, sign and adhere to FCC indecency policy as a condition of employment and/or continuing to be on the air. We might be willing to schedule some uncensored shows, at, say, 12 midnight or 1 am, but certainly nothing improper would be heard between 6 AM and 11 PM. I would probably even make it 5 AM to Midnight to be on the safe side.
 
voicetrack said:
My son was just flipping channels. We never lsiten to that station.

You never listen to the station? So let me ask a question, and I'm not trying to be a smart ass here; if you never listen to the station, then why do you care what they play? Do you just want to police the airwaves for everyone else?
Click to expand...

Well yes. what if a child turns it on? I am sorry but that type of language should not be on a radio station in a small town like this.
 
Sorry for getting you all worked up guys. I guess a few dirty words on a college radio station just dont bother me all that much. Call me defective.
 
If you have never had a black friend than you just won't understand. This music is mostly purchased
by white teens. As well as the F word the N word is sprinkled all over it.
Yes I tried to have an open mind and spent some time listening to unedited hip hop and
I do know. And, I know that if I had a black friend over and played this for him he would feel alienated, offended, and hurt.
So, if I put this on the air, please explain to me how I am doing a good thing?
 
Ur-A-Dawg said:
Here's what I said. "Wow! I didn't have to go to an expensive college to learn that the F word is a bad word. My mom taught me this years before that. It's not my job to argue with you and try to teach you what mom should have."

This has a different meaning and I did not say this. "If you don talk the way my mama taught me to talk, then your mama was defective."

Didn't sat that. But, reminds me of American politics.
Click to expand...

During the years I worked in broadcasting I don't ever remember receiving any training or advice that resembled what has become known in later years as "sensitivity training". I moved into corporate America and had a lot of REQUIRED meetings in which they helped us to understand that our fellow workers and customers (and vendors) don't always hear or read what we said the same way we said it.

I, too, am not happy with the language and discourse of political communication and conversation today. Most of us are so confidant in our political thinking we cannot believe that decent people can think any other way. We don't stop to think how insulting, how harsh our own expressions are in the mind of some other people.

I heard what you said about the training your mother gave you about speech. (My mother taught me similar values.)
That leaves a lot unsaid. What did my mother teach me to do when someone said something I disagreed with? What did my mother DO when someone said something she didn't agree with? How did she handle those situations?

You and I have friends and neighbors who either were taught different values by their parents, or as they ventured into the big bold world beyond their parental nest. There was this awkward moment around my dining table a couple of years ago when my high school aged daughter was telling about her competitive cheer leading participation. I asked how they were doing as a team and she replied: "Granpaw... We kick butt!"

Now you and I know that is NOT foul language in today's world... and yet it was a very strange moment around our table. We never said any thing like that around my mother's table. My children never experienced that kind of verbiage around our table. But we did have robust discussion of politics, society, religion, philosophy around my table with the children, and with the grandchildren. So, we quietly chuckled among ourselves. I think my mama would have chuckled. With my personal blessing, I have children who are political conservatives and political liberals. With my personal encouragement I have a child who has returned to the conservative and evangelical religion of our earlier years and a child who has ventured beyond the more liberal religious views I hold today and that child today meditates in the teachings of Buddhism.

I'm kind of glad it's not your job to try to teach me what my mom should have.
 
P.S. With an attitude like mine, it is not likely anyone is going to let ME pick the music to go on their radio station. ;)
 
I am sure that all of you had great mothers who did their best. My mother was a Quaker and she taught me that even worse than profanity are words that really hurt people. Like the N word. Like the B word. And, the ho word or however you want to spell it. I should not say or play these words. And, they are all over rap music today.

Do any of you remember Bill Cosby and a tv show called Of Black America? It was on in 1968 when
I was a 7th grader in Richmond Indiana. Bill Cosby frequently denounced black artists who made the race look bad for the white man's money.

Maybe we should look at this issue from Bill Cosby's angle. I think he was right.
 
I admire what the Friends Church has contributed to our country. I hold the Quakers to a
higher standard than almost anyone else.
And, they should include Bill Cosby's position in their debate in this discussion. It is
important!
But wait! WECI has been taken to the woodshed long enough. The Quakers should be
allowed to handle this now. . Other stations have played this hip hop too. But, just
because something is popular doesn't make it right.
However, Singling them out with the FCC is very unfair
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom