| Title: | ARCHIVE-- Topics of Interest to Women, Volume 2 --ARCHIVE |
| Notice: | V2 is closed. TURRIS::WOMANNOTES-V5 is open. |
| Moderator: | REGENT::BROOMHEAD |
| Created: | Thu Jan 30 1986 |
| Last Modified: | Fri Jun 30 1995 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 1105 |
| Total number of notes: | 36379 |
I'd like to thank the moderators of WOMANNOTES for their guidance.
This topic may be used to further discuss censorship in radio.
I heard a message on the radio this morning urging listeners
to send letters to the FCC. According to the message the FCC is
considering expanding the restriction on broadcasting of indecent
material (their definition of indecent) from the current 16 hour
period of 6am to 10pm to 24 hours a day. They urged their listeners
to write the FCC a letter to raise objections to the FCC's plans. A
brief history of the treatment of the broadcast of indecent material
follows the addresses.
Please reference NM docket 89-494 "Notice of Inquiry - Enforcement
of Prohibition Against Broadcast Decency" in your letter.
The address to send your letters to is:
Secretary of the FCC
1919 M Street NW
Washington DC 20554
****YOUR LETTERS MUST REACH THE FCC BY JAN 19, 1990.****
When I called the radio station, they also requested that you send
multiple copies of your letter to the FCC, and also send copies to your
congressional representatives and the radio station. The radio station's
address is:
KFJC
12345 El Monte Road
Los Altos Hills, CA 94022
People could post generic letters to the FCC for people who don't
feel comfortable with their writing skills. Those people may then
cut and past their names into the letters and send them.
*********************************************************************
I spoke with Jeff Tellis of the IBS (Intercollegiate Broadcasting
System) this morning and he gave me some background on the FCC's
actions and the call for public input. Here is a summary of what he
told me.
About 10 years ago the FCC set forth informal guidelines on the
broadcast of indecent material. The voluntary guidelines restricted
broadcasts of such material from 10pm to 6am. About two years ago
after complaints, the FCC decided to drop the voluntary guidelines.
Broadcasters who wanted to stay within FCC rules complained there
weren't any rules to follow, so the FCC set forth formal rules
restricting the broadcasts from 12 midnight to 6am. The formal
rules were challenged in court and the court ruled that the FCC didn't
have any grounds for the times it chose to restrict. The FCC then
started gathering information to support their restriction.
In the meantime, Jesse Helms attached a measure to a finance bill
that made the FCC rule to not allow the broadcast of indecent material
24 hours a day. The bill passed, but the courts struck down that
portion of the bill which completely restricting broadcast of indecent
material on similar grounds to the ones raised in the previous case.
The FCC has decided to adopt the rules set forth by Sen. Helms on
its own, but have once again been blocked by the courts. The IBS is
asking for letters against such a ban to be sent to the FCC which is
currently soliciting public comment for the appeals case it has against
the ruling striking down it's rule. By sending copies of your letter
to the radio station and your congressional representitive you give
them a record of your feelings on the issue.
Tony Purmal
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 939.1 | <*** Moderator Response ***> | MOSAIC::TARBET | Thu Jan 11 1990 15:58 | 6 | |
Since it's not completely clear from Tony's note, please feel free to
write to the FCC on *either* side of the issue, *or* to do nothing at
all. Nothing in the note should be read as a request that you do
anything in particular.
=maggie
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| 939.2 | clarification, please | RUSTIE::NALE | Thu Jan 11 1990 16:52 | 5 | |
What does the FCC define as indecent material? Sue | |||||
| 939.3 | What??? | RDVAX::COLLIER | Bruce Collier | Thu Jan 11 1990 17:25 | 6 |
.0 > Please reference NM docket 89-494 "Notice of Inquiry - Enforcement
.0 > of Prohibition Against Broadcast Decency" in your letter.
_____________________________________
Wow. You want us to endorse THAT? I've got some reservations. I guess
the references will get their attention, at least.
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| 939.4 | Ooops | RCA::PURMAL | Rhymes with thermal, and thats cool! | Thu Jan 11 1990 17:54 | 20 |
re: .3 Bruce
That should read "Prohibition Against Broadcast Indecency".
Actually I would like people to support the side of the issue they
feel is right for them. I myself am going to write a letter asking
that they don't completely ban indecent material from being broadcast.
re: .2 Sue
I don't have the legal definitions, but there are two main types of
material that are of interest. Obscene material and indecent material.
Obscene material is currently banned from the airwaves, whereas
indecent material is currently restricted. I think that any song using
the f word (I'm not sure what the appropriate representation is in this
conference) might be considered indecent.
I'll try to get some definitions of obscene and indecent material.
Tony
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| 939.5 | Truth in Comedy | 2EASY::CONLIFFE | Cthulhu Barata Nikto | Fri Jan 12 1990 08:55 | 51 |
George Carlin used to have a routine called "The seven words you
can't say on television"; I heard from some fairly legitimate source
(which escapes me at the moment) that those words were explicitly
called out as obscene by the FCC.
And for those of you who need examples (next unseen now if you're
squeamish)...
You don't really think I'd put words like that in here, do you???
(-:
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| 939.6 | Cute! | EGYPT::SMITH | Passionate commitment to reasoned faith | Fri Jan 12 1990 09:16 | 2 |
.5
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| 939.7 | I sure do miss the "Free Music Store". | PROXY::SCHMIDT | Thinking globally, acting locally! | Fri Jan 12 1990 20:48 | 19 |
As I recall, the original ruling was made in a case involving WBAI,
listener sponsored, non-commercial radio at 99.5 FM in NYC. One
lunchtime, they played the George Carlin piece and a man who was
riding in his car with his young son decided to complain to the
FCC rather than simply change the channel.
After a lengthy legal battle, the ruling emerged, citing those
seven words specifically. My subscription to 'BAI expired before
the ultimate ruling.
I don't know which album the track is on, but it's *NOT*:
"AM and FM",
"An Evening with Wally Londo featuring Bill Slaszo", or
"Toledo Window Box".
"Class Clown", perhaps?
Atlant
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| 939.8 | ACESMK::CHELSEA | Mostly harmless. | Wed Jan 17 1990 18:28 | 12 | |
Re: .7
It's on _Class Clown_.
Re: in general
One of the college stations carried Dr. Demento, a collection of
"novelty" songs. It ran sometime after 10 pm on weekends. It got
pulled because one evening the show played "Kinko the Clown" about a
child molester. I expect this would fall under the category of
"indecent" but probably not "obscene." (Unless you're Jesse Helms, of
course...).
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| 939.9 | We've been given more time | RCA::PURMAL | Rhymes with thermal, and thats cool! | Fri Feb 02 1990 11:25 | 19 |
The deadline has been extended to Feb 19, 1990, so if you haven't had a
chance to write please do so.
Its important that you reference "NM docket 89-494 "Notice of Inquiry -
Enforcement of Prohibition Against Broadcast Indecency" in your letter.
The FCC is particularly interested in hearing your comments on:
o their premise that children (the ones being "protected" from the
indecent material) are listening to the radio between 10 pm and
6 am.
o the ability of adults to still gain access to "indecent" material if
the ban is implemented.
o their premise that children will tune into broadcasts of "indecent"
material.
Tony Purmal
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