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Profanity on air??

M

mrtexmex2007

Guest
Today while I was driving to work I heard a slogan for KNTE El Norte saying, La Estacion que esta a toda Madre!!! In english it means the Station that is bad Asssss. In spanish this is a word that is really bad to be on air. Also im watching a movie on Direct Tv Channel 423, Cine Latino channel. Its not extra channel like HBO or nothing like that. It had to many bad words, are these bad words allowed in spanish TV by the FCC?
 
Toda Madre? All Mother?
It's hard to tell with the vernacular applied.
Sounds warm and homey to me but my Spanish is Castilian.
 
Yeah but in spanish especially to mexicans, and remember this is a regional MEXICAN station! It means bad Ass, not all mother!
 
Until someone complains to the FCC about the issue, they won't recognize it as a problem. To the FCC it means the literal translation not the slang vernacular.
Not that the FCC does much about things said in plain English either.
 
mrtexmex2007 said:
Today while I was driving to work I heard a slogan for KNTE El Norte saying, La Estacion que esta a toda Madre!!! In english it means the Station that is bad Asssss. In spanish this is a word that is really bad to be on air. Also im watching a movie on Direct Tv Channel 423, Cine Latino channel. Its not extra channel like HBO or nothing like that. It had to many bad words, are these bad words allowed in spanish TV by the FCC?
Click to expand...

Bad Ass is not profanity under FCC rules....Bad?? NO...Ass?? Could refer to a donkey...so a badass could be a bad donkey..
Family Guy has gotten away with saying **** on the air.....because they were talking about a **** as in rooster..which is a legal name...bitch is the name of a female dog...and can be said in that context (or even YOU BITCH!....)
remember the 7 dirty words are the ones the FCC fines on...(have a George Carlin album?? listen to it for the words)..
Otherwise, anything else is left up to complaints...and if in a city of 6million only 3 people complain? Forget it.....
 
"Toda Madre" is not considered profanity. As a matter a fact, it's just slang, it is not degrading in the spanish language, or so I find it. It's just like saying "Hell Yeah" in English. No offense taken by many people.
 
CW said:
...and if in a city of 6million only 3 people complain? Forget it.....
Click to expand...

This couldn't be more incorrect.

ONE complaint equals fine. That's the new environment. No such thing as majority rule when it comes to FCC fines. AND we're all guilty until proven innocent. And "community standards" are a universal broad-based definition of what's allowable. Even though the community in Sugarland is nowhere near the same as Brooklyn. Doesn't matter "unacceptable" is universal now.

If you work in radio, I suggest you check with your legal dept. You'll find just how hair-triggered the world we exist within is.
 
KTEX in the Valley once had a bilingual liner touting ''playing chingos de country music.''
And I could of sworn the syndicated morning show on 92.9 in San Antonio used ''a la chingada'' just the other day. Apparantly there is more leeway for the Spanish stations since there are no Spanish words on the FCC's no-no list.
 
fredcantu said:
KTEX in the Valley once had a bilingual liner touting ''playing chingos de country music.''
And I could of sworn the syndicated morning show on 92.9 in San Antonio used ''a la chingada'' just the other day. Apparantly there is more leeway for the Spanish stations since there are no Spanish words on the FCC's no-no list.
Click to expand...

Contrary to urban legend, there is no list in any language. While the F-bomb and the s---t word have been delt with, much language is subject to context. The real focus is not on bad words but on jokes and chat that appeal to the prurient interest.
 
Neanderpaul said:
There is a statue (sic) for on-air profanity. It is clear and rigid.
Click to expand...

Are you by chance referring to this?

Sec. 73.3999 Enforcement of 18 U.S.C. 1464 (restrictions on the transmission of
obscene and indecent material).

(a) No licensee of a radio or television broadcast station shall broadcast
any material which is obscene.

(b) No licensee of a radio or television broadcast station shall broadcast
on any day between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. any material which is indecent.

[ 60 FR 44439 , Aug. 28, 1995]

While the intent of this FCC regulation is obvious a definition of "obscene" or "indecent" material is missing. Without that it's anything but clear and rigid. Care to give us an example of a statute that is?
 
mrtexmex2007 said:
Today while I was driving to work I heard a slogan for KNTE El Norte saying, La Estacion que esta a toda Madre!!! In english it means the Station that is bad Asssss. In spanish this is a word that is really bad to be on air. Also im watching a movie on Direct Tv Channel 423, Cine Latino channel. Its not extra channel like HBO or nothing like that. It had to many bad words, are these bad words allowed in spanish TV by the FCC?
Click to expand...

I will defer to the experts if I am wrong but doesn`t the fcc have no involvment with cable or satalite tv?just broadcast tv?
 
As usual, the Shi*thouse lawyers come out of the woodwork. I can't tell you if there's "a list" of words the feds will come after you for, but I can say from my (insane) experience on the S&P show that the line isn't all that vague if you know what you're doing. Examples? Why sure.... (please don't edit - the following examples are real. I know, I was there)

You can not say "stick this in your ass". You can say "stick this up your ass. The latter statement does not imply insertion into a body orifice.

You can not say "I like your p*ssy" (unless, of course, you justify it with a comment about a cat). You can say "I think you're a p*ssy". The latter is a slang that describes a perceived character trait, not human genitalia.

You can not say "I think your as*hole stinks". You can say " I think you stink, as*hole". Again, the latter describes a perception of the person, not a body part.

I could go on (and on, and on, and on) with examples directly from the (pre-cc) show, but you get the point.

Argue all you want that the people/show/station could get in trouble for statements like those above, but you won't win. Language like this was part of the show on a daily basis and nobody ever went to fcc prison over it.

Chuck Akers
damaged forever, thanks s&p!
 
Hey Chuck,

Great to see that you're still out there. Still jumping out of perfectly good airplanes? Your points are well made, however ever since Janet's "Wardrobe Malfunction" the Commission's stance has gotten even more conservative. We really have to watch what we say. I have never been a large proponent of using foul language on the air, and I think some of the funniest bits S&P ever did were the ones where Jimmy would create his own perfectly acceptable phrases to describe something really disgusting. I'm sure you can remember a few of those. Now whether the phrase in discussion is truly profane (it's certainly not obscene) or not is one of those things that disturbs me most about this board. Is it really a possibility that the management of this multi-million dollar broadcasting facility would risk their license by airing a positioning statement that is PROFANE?!?!?! I can't be the only one on here that gets it. Am I? Surely not.
 
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