Radio Censorship and the FCC

The Federal Communications Commission, also known as the FCC, is a U.S. government agency established in 1934 that regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable. Although in the 1950s the FCC was much more restrictive and accused of having a "chilling effect" on the media (caused them to self-censor), nowadays it is a little more lax. For example, there is no longer a list of words that the FCC considers obscene or indecent; instead, it looks at everything on a case-by-case basis.

The FCC determines what is appropriate to broadcast at certain times of the day. While it is not allowed to hinder free speech, obscene speech has never had protection, the FCC can put some restrictions on indecent speech. This means that between the hours of 6 a.m and 10 p.m., radio stations cannot broadcast any indecent material; however, they can broadcast indecent material and profane language between 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.-this time period is known as the "Safe Harbor."

Obscene Speech

For speech to be considered obscene, it must pass a three-prong test. First, "the average person, applying contemporary community standards, must find the material to appeal to a prurient interest." Second, "the material must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable law." Third, the material as a whole "must lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value."

Indecent Speech

Speech is considered indecent "if, in context, it depicts or describes sexual or excretory organs or activities in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards." However, indecent speech is determined on a case-by-case basis.

Material is considered to be patently offensive if "the description is explicit or graphic," the material "dwells on or repeats at length descriptions or depictions of sexual or excretory organs," and if "the material appears to pander or is used to titillate or shock."

Although indecent material is protected by the First Amendment, it can "be restricted to avoid its broadcast during times of the day when there is a reasonable risk that children may be in the audience." According to the FCC, children are probably in the audience between 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Profane Language

Profane language encompasses "words that are so highly offensive that their mere utterance in the context presented may, in legal terms, amount to a nuisance.'"

Censored Songs on the Radio

Many songs played on the radio have had one or more words censored, at least if they were played during the hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. However, not all of these censorships seem to make sense. Here is a breakdown of some censored songs and why their censorship does not necessarily make sense.

Jeremih "Birthday Sex"

The radio version of this song uses the words "birthday texts" instead of "birthday sex." However, the rest of the lyrics remain unchanged, and the rest of the lyrics include words such as "g-spot," and clear phrases about pleasuring a woman sexually. And, aside from that, "birthday texts" sounds almost exactly like "birthday sex" in the song. So why the change? If children really listen to all the lyrics of this song, does this one change really protect them? And how is this indecent? Sex is a natural part of life, and there are plenty of movies and television shows that depict much more sexual situations.

MIA "Paper Planes"

Radio stations bleep out the word "weed" in this song. But how is this indecent language? It is the name of a tangible thing, and nowadays Americans as a whole are more comfortable with the idea of weed. Massachusetts basically decriminalized possession of marijuana earlier this year, and California may be able to vote to legalize and tax weed on next year's ballot (and if passed, restrictions on weed use will be about the same as restrictions on alcohol use). And, some states have even legalized medical marijuana, and Oakland, California is making money off of taxing medical marijuana businesses. So, if the goal is to protect children from any sort of mention of substances, then shouldn't words relating to alcohol also be bleeped out? Also, there are gunshot sounds in the song, which although meant to be a statement about people making money selling military weapons and ammunition, can also be interpreted as just being violent. How does the FCC and radio stations pick and choose what is and what is not acceptable to broadcast? It seems a little random sometimes.

Sublime "Santeria"

The radio version of this song bleeps out the word "ass" after the word "punk." However, you can still hear the gist of the word "ass" so most children can probably figure out what the word is, which makes me wonder how effective this method is.

Fall Out Boy "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race"

For a while, radio stations played the whole phrase, "this ain't a scene, it's a god damn arms race." However, now radio stations bleep out the word "god." Yes, I can understand people getting upset from using the Lord's name in vain, but at the same time, why isn't the word "damn" also censored? The meaning remains the same, with or without the word "god," and when compared to other censored songs, it seems using the word "damn" in that context would also be censored.

Nirvana "Rape Me"

This very popular song is not censored at all on the radio. Yes, this is an anti-rape song about a girl telling her rapist she will survive the rape, she will overcome it, and she will get revenge. But how many children listen that closely to lyrics and interpret them? The majority of the song consists of the words, "rape me," so wouldn't this send a mixed message? Also, considering other censored songs, which one could argue that in context is not all that indecent and therefore should be played normally during regular hours, why was this song considered decent?

Chilling Effect?

The FCC gives heavy fines to stations it finds violated FCC rules. For example, in 2004, the FCC took action in 12 cases, which totaled in about $8 million in penalties. Also, now broadcast stations will be fined per each indecent utterance in a broadcast, instead of one penalty for the whole broadcast.

The FCC tries to look at every complaint within nine months of receiving the complaint, and it looks at everything on a case-by-cases basis. But do these heavy fines have a sort of chilling effect on broadcasters? Does it make them censor any words that even a small group of people may have a problem with? It's hard to say, but I do think censorship of songs on the radio seems to be inconsistent. While I do understand the need to protect children, I also do not advocate stronger censorship because I think that will produce a chilling effect and impede on free speech rights. However, I do wish I could make sense of why some songs were censored and others were not.

References:

http://www.fcc.gov/eb/oip/FAQ.html

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/freespeech.html

http://www.fcc.gov/eb/oip/