George Carlin
How 's "Filthy Words" Gave the Government the Power to Regulate What We Hear on the Radio
The FCC v. Pacifica Foundation: GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS ON RADIO BROADCASTING
In 1978 a radio station owned by Pacifica Foundation Broadcasting out of New York City was doing a program on contemporary attitudes toward the use of language. This broadcast occurred on a mid-afternoon weekday. Immediately before the broadcast the station announced a disclaimer telling listeners that the program would include "sensitive language which might be regarded as offensive to some."(Gunther, 1991) As a part of the program the station decided to air a 12 minute monologue called "Filthy Words" by comedian . The ...
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wouldn't say, ever. Bastard you can say, and hell and damn so I have to figure out which ones you couldn't and ever and it came down to seven but the list is open to amendment, and in fact, has been changed, uh, by now. The original seven words were shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits. Those are the ones that will curve your spine, grow hair on your hands and maybe, even bring us, God help us, peace without honor, and a bourbon. (Carlin, 1977)
A man driving with his young son heard this broadcast and reported it to the Federal Communications Commission [FCC]. This broadcast of Carlin's "Filthy Words" monologue caused one of the greatest and most controversial cases in the history of broadcasting. The case of the FCC v. Pacifica Foundation. The outcome of this case has had a lasting effect on what we hear on the radio.
This landmark case gave the FCC the "power to regulate radio broadcasts that are indecent but not obscene." (Gunther, 1991) What does that ...
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absolute rule mandated by the constitution," according to the Supreme Court.(Gunther, 1991) Therefore the question is "whether a broadcast of patently offensive words dealing with sex and excretion may be regulated because of its content. The fact that society may find speech offensive is not a sufficient reason for suppressing it."(Gunther, 1991) The Supreme Court deemed that these words offend for the same reasons that obscenity offends. They also state that "these words, even though they had no literary meaning or value, were still protected by the first amendment."(Gunther, 1991) So what does this mean to the American public? This decision gave government the power to regulate, ...
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George Carlin. (2004, March 24). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/George-Carlin/5100
"George Carlin." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 24 Mar. 2004. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/George-Carlin/5100>
"George Carlin." Essayworld.com. March 24, 2004. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/George-Carlin/5100.
"George Carlin." Essayworld.com. March 24, 2004. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/George-Carlin/5100.
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