[Fwd: [FAIR-L] The FCC, Radio & Censorship: Defining Decency]

From: Velanche Stewart (vstewart@calpoly.edu)
Date: Tue Jun 26 2001 - 02:10:16 CEST

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    Looks as if we are getting some heavyweight assistance.

    -------- Original Message --------
    Subject: [FAIR-L] The FCC, Radio & Censorship: Defining Decency
    Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 17:33:10 -0400
    From: FAIR-L@FAIR.ORG
    Reply-To: fair-l-request@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU
    To: FAIR-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU

                                     FAIR-L
                        Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting
                   Media analysis, critiques and news reports

    ACTION ALERT:
    The FCC, Radio & Censorship: Defining Decency

    June 25, 2001

    The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently fined a community
    radio
    station for airing a political rap song that attacks sexual exploitation
    and
    degrading lyrics in popular music.

    On May 17, the FCC issued a $7,000 fine to Portland, Oregon's KBOO, a
    listener-sponsored station, charging that Sarah Jones' "Your Revolution"
    violated the Commission's decency standards, which were revised in
    April.
    The song, which challenges the sexualization of women in rap, asserts
    that
    "your revolution will not happen between these thighs."

    The FCC ruled that "Your Revolution" contained "unmistakable patently
    offensive sexual references" that "appear to be designed to pander and
    shock." This ruling came after the FCC issued an order, nearly seven
    years
    in the making, to "provide guidance to broadcast licensees regarding
    compliance with the Commission's indecency regulations."

    The FCC's indecency rules define indecent speech as "language that, in
    context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured
    by
    contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium, sexual or
    excretory activities or organs."

    Far from clarifying the FCC guidelines, the Jones case reveals how
    unqualified the FCC is to determine the bounds of decency. Much of what
    might be considered "indecent" in the song are references to the sexism
    in
    the songs Jones is criticizing.

    The Jones case received less attention than the FCC's June 1 decision to
    impose a fine-- also $7,000-- on commercial radio station KKMG in
    Colorado
    Springs, Colorado for airing an edited version of "The Real Slim Shady,"
    a
    song by rap artist Eminem. The FCC determined that the song violated its
    indecency standards, despite the fact that expletives had been bleeped
    out
    or removed. Ironically, "The Real Slim Shady" also includes an
    anti-censorship message, pointing out what Eminem sees as double
    standards
    about what kinds of speech are considered acceptable in popular culture.

    The FCC's new "get tough" policy stands in sharp contrast to Powell's
    earlier statements about indecency. As Salon pointed out (6/13/01),
    Powell
    expressed skepticism about taking action on decency at his first press
    conference as FCC chair: "I don't want the government as my nanny. I
    still
    have never understood why something as simple as turning it off is not
    part
    of the answer." His changed may be due to pressure from conservative
    groups.
    ''This is probably a result of pressure from this organization,"
    Morality in
    Media's Paul McGeady said of the Eminem decision (Village Voice,
    6/19/01).

    While cracking down on "indecency," the FCC's interest in regulating
    corporate control of the public airwaves seems to be at an all-time low.
    FCC
    Chair Michael Powell has advocated a deregulatory strategy that would
    likely
    remove the remaining legal limits on media consolidation.

    By penalizing KBOO, the government is punishing an attempt to respond to
    offensive speech with more speech. Sarah Jones' critique is likely to
    be a
    more effective response than censorship to the cultural violence and
    misogyny represented by Eminem-- but if the FCC fails to uphold its
    mandate
    of maintaining a diversity of voices on the public airwaves, there will
    be
    fewer and fewer places where such a critique is likely to be heard.

    ACTION: Please contact the Federal Communications Commission about its
    attempts to define "decency" for the public. You might encourage the FCC
    to
    focus its attention on media consolidation instead, which has a much
    broader
    and more lasting impact on the content of the nation's airwaves.

    CONTACT:
    Michael Powell, FCC Chair
    Federal Communications Commission
    445 12th St. S.W.
    Washington, DC 20554
    mailto:mpowell@fcc.gov
    Phone: 1-888-225-5322
    Fax: 1-202-418-0232

    For more background on the Jones case, please read:
    http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0125/lee.shtml

                                   ----------

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