We Don't Want No Bleeping Bleeping
Somebody posting a comment here the other day thought I was silly to say there was a chill on free speech. Well, I've personally experienced the chill, when I've gone on non-internet radio shows in the past, and I was told they couldn't have me saying the word..."blow job"! This, specifically, was Glenn Sachs radio show...and I can't really blame him. He was just trying to protect the station, himself, and me from thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
And here's the latest, from a Wall Street Journal article by Amy Schatz, on the FCC and their propensity to fine broadcasters...as egged on by senaturds and congressturds in an election year push to "clean up" the airwaves (clean up, of course, means remove all traces of human sexuality, but not the human tendency to blow each other away:
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, who took over in 2005, has shown little patience for questionable programming. Consequently, the FCC is expected to continue proposing multimillion-dollar fines, and industry executives say it now makes financial sense to challenge them in court. They also worry Mr. Martin's FCC will expand its efforts to dictate standards, pointing to the commission's willingness in March to propose fines for graphic sexual content or the use of expletives that it deemed not "essential" to a show. Industry executives argue that the FCC is injecting itself deeper into content decisions than has historically been the case.Enforcing indecency laws ultimately comes down to a judgment call, but two cases demonstrate how inconsistent the FCC's indecency decisions can appear. One involved U2 singer Bono's use of an expletive during NBC's live broadcast of the 2003 Golden Globes Awards. The FCC initially deemed the singer's swearing acceptable but later reversed itself amid political pressure. The other case involved a $1.2 million fine for an episode of Fox Television's "Married by America," which featured scenes of partygoers licking whipped cream off strippers. In that case, the FCC diverged from previous policy and fined every Fox affiliate that broadcast the show, instead of just those stations that drew complaints.
In March, however, FCC officials reverted to fining only stations that drew complaints. FCC officials said its more "limited approach" was made to show its "commitment to an appropriately restrained enforcement policy."
"There are two theories of appealing a content-related decision. One is on the First Amendment, and the other is that the FCC is acting in an arbitrary and capricious way," says John Crigler, a Washington-based First Amendment lawyer who isn't involved in the networks' lawsuit. "The [indecency] standard is getting so contorted that this is a pretty good time to challenge just based on consistency."
Of course, in the past, for reasons utterly unrelated to the FCC, after coming off the air after telling some joke about my hate mail that made the announcers (Mark Cooper and Cathy Gori) go white, I asked the engineer what the problem was. He quipped: "We don't have rectums on NPR."
There's also some worry among the cable networks that the FCC is going to make a power grab and try to regulate those too (right now the FCC only has sway over "broadcast" networks).
deja pseu at May 19, 2006 6:52 AM
Censorship is strange. They wouldn't have any objections if you used the clinical term "fellatio," but it's cruder but more universally understood cousin is forbidden. You could talk about copulation. You could call it "making love" (however a person happens to think love is "made") or "having sex." Or if you prefer the more pedestrian (and unclever), you could talk about "making the beast with two backs," "the horizontal mambo," "park the porpoise," "sink the sub," "hide the salami," but you can't talk about "fucking." Not very sensible, and I guess it shouldn't matter to me, since I prefer the more clinical terminology.
Patrick at May 19, 2006 8:07 AM
Wait. Not being able to say "blow job" on the radio is evidence of a chill on free speech? Is this a new development? Did Jack Benny do knob jokes?
Not that the FCC doesn't stink (they're why I have XM), but if that's your "chill of free speech," we've been the Ice Age for decades.
Jim Treacher at May 19, 2006 10:53 AM
There are some people who are going to feel oppressed until the President ends the SOTU address with "Blow me and good night." There are a lot of contexts for people to speak frankly about sexuality or whatever's on their mind. The fact that some speech is forbidden in some circumstances, and that the precise boundaries are wiggly, doesn't mean that people are oppressed. (Howard Stern has made millions from the adolescent view to the contrary.)
You don't have to be a prude to acknowledge that our base feelings need no champion... They will always be with us and will always be expressed somehow. Global distribution for clumsy ideas is cheaper than ever before.
Crid at May 19, 2006 11:32 AM
Is this a new development?
Well, sure it is. Back when we had a president who got blow jobs, people were able to say it. In fact, it was damn near the only thing they said for a while.
Howard Stern has made millions from the adolescent view to the contrary.
...and been fined millions too. On balance, he's probably doing okay, but let's not pretend he's gotten a free ride all these years.
LYT at May 19, 2006 7:49 PM
> he's probably doing okay
Oh for the love of Christ, he's one of the most successful broadcasters of ALL TIME! When it was time to introduce a whole new technology, he got the call! WE ALL should suffer such regulatory torment. Of every bus fare, gas bill or tuition check he ever paid --and we DON'T know that the money came from his personal accounts-- the FCC fees were probably his best, most cheerful and rewarding investment.
Puhleeze.
Crid at May 19, 2006 8:17 PM
I heard on rectum-free NPR yesterday that the fine for a naughty utterance is now $325,000. This is big business. What's the FCC going to do with all the money?
Holy fucking shit.
Lena at May 20, 2006 10:16 AM
"A chill on free speech" usually implies suppression of ideological or political speech, not dirty words, not shouting "FIRE!" in a theater, etc.
The public air-waves are regulated precisely because anyone can tune in, even children. Profanity on these channels would be equivelant to my showing up at your Thanksgiving dinner and asking "So how's the fucking old douche-bag you call a grandmother?"
Just because you cannot see your audience does not make the scenario open-field for whatever social rules (or lack thereof) the speaker has. Context, kiddo, context.
Oligonicella at May 20, 2006 9:45 PM
They said the word "blowjob" on the radio then. Huh.
Jim Treacher at May 21, 2006 5:53 PM
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