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 George
Carlin. The introduction of Carlin 's "routine" consisted of, according to
Carlin, "words you couldn 't say on the public air waves."(Carlin, 1977) The
introduction to Carlin 's monologue listed those words and repeated them in a
variety of colloquialisms:
I was thinking about the curse words and the swear words, the cuss words and
the words that you can 't say, that you 're not supposed to say all the time.
I was thinking one night about the words you couldn 't say on the public, ah,
airwaves, um, the ones you definitely 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
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 George
Carlin. The introduction of Carlin 's "routine" consisted of, according to
Carlin, "words you couldn 't say on the public air waves."(Carlin, 1977) The
introduction to Carlin 's monologue listed those words and repeated them in a
variety of colloquialisms:
I was thinking about the curse words and the swear words, the cuss words and
the words that you can 't say, that you 're not supposed to say all the time.
I was thinking one night about the words you couldn 't say on the public, ah,
airwaves, um, the ones you definitely 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
References: Gunther, G. (1991). Constitutional Law. Twelfth Edition. New York: The Foundation Press, Inc. pp. 1154-1161. Carlin, G. (1977). Class Clown. "Filthy Words" monologue. Atlantic Records, Inc. Simones, A. (1995). Lecture on FCC v. Pacifica Foundation. October 27, 1995. Constitutional Law, Southwest Missouri State University. Stern, H. (1994). Private Parts. New York: Simon & Schuster Inc. Stern, H. (1995). Miss America. New York: Regan Books.