Ringo20000

I hope you have your Rune Stone ready because another word of curse is coming to a TV near you, and no its not meecrob.


[ Friday, Dec. 12, 2003 ]


FCC ruling allows use of f-word in broadcasts



By Jen Winberry

Collegian Staff Writer


"The mother of all dirty words" was how Ralphie referred to it in the seasonal classic A Christmas Story.


That four-letter word may now appear on radio and television stations across the country.


After an October ruling by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the word "****" may now be used in a non-sexual context in radio and television media.


Although networks now have the freedom to use the word as an adjective or expletive to emphasize an exclamation, Greg Petersen, director of programming for WPSU-FM (91.5), said his station would not be using such language.


"The ruling does not change the way we operate," he said. "Our standards are much higher than the FCC's."


Petersen doubts there will be a rush to use such obscenities on television regardless of the ruling.


The ruling came nine months after U2 lead singer Bono accepted a Golden Globe award and, in his acceptance speech, said, "This is [expletive] great." Because the awards show aired live, censoring the word was not possible.


The ruling was a response to the specific incident, which took place in January, said Suzanne Tetreault, chief of staff of the FCC's enforcement bureau.


"The thing that people should keep in mind is that it is fact-based, and a decision on one case," she said. "The FCC looked at one specific incident and concluded that it did not violate indecency standards."


Petersen said reaction from students on the decision might vary depending upon the context in which the word is used.


"If it's in the middle of a drama, then students probably won't take offense to it. But if it's in the middle of Sesame Street, then they probably will," he said.


Jess Dellen (sophomore-journalism) said she advocates free speech for everyone.


"If the First Amendment says I can say what I want ... I should be able to say what I want," she said.


Dellen added that she doesn't understand why the word may be used as an adjective, but not in a sexual context.


"There is little difference between its use in the phrase, 'I [expletive] him last weekend,' and 'That's [expletive] stupid,' " she said. "It's still the same word. That's like saying it's all right to show people actually having sex on television as long as you didn't get a close-up of penetration."


Several groups, however, are taking steps to change the ruling.


"I am disappointed in the ruling," said Pennsylvania Family Institute President Michael Geer. "The public airways are a trust that the FCC is supposed to be guarding for the American people."


Geer added that the FCC must begin to take responsibility for what it allows to be broadcast.


"People consistently say it is the responsibility of the parent to monitor what their children are watching, but this ruling makes that difficult," he said. "The broadcast landscape has become a minefield for parents."


While the Institute has not planned any protests of the ruling, Geer said it has been in contact with the Parents Television Council (PTC), a non-partisan group dedicated to a "socially responsible entertainment medium," according to its Web site.


Petrault said the FCC is reviewing the decision and is taking into consideration various opinions.


Leah Orchinik (sophomore-psychology) said it wasn't the issue of the word in particular, but of where to draw an appropriate line.


"It isn't the question of free speech, it's just about being tasteful," she said.


Orchinik wonders if and where a line will be drawn.


"One thing will lead to another and there will be no class or decency left," she said.


http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive...03dnews-09.asp

retihsuhnt

South Park's season premiere will now be the f**k episode.

Groucho

Because the FCC let the SHIT fly on public airwaves, it was also allowed to hit the fan here at DVDTalk.

Will the same be true of the F-word?

Tscott

So let me get this straight,

"Let's eat some ****ing pizza" will be ok, but "Let's eat some pizza and ****" will not?

How about "Let's eat some ****ing pizza and have some ****ing sex"?

das Monkey

What about "Let's **** a pizza"?

das

Red Dog

Don't you just love government involvement in ****ing shit like this?

B.A.

Damnit - I just read this and that is what I was going to say!

"If he says "****", we'll all say "****"! It'll be anarchy!"

Tom Campbell

But what will the people who control the bleeps do now?

Morf

So can we say that word on the forums now?

retihsuhnt

****

Edit: Nope.

Achtung

Move to Utah?

movielib

I still want to be able to say **** f***ing sapiens.

Deftones

sweet! Hopefully the Stern show will start with the f-bombs now! Woo

Red Dog

Frankly I'd rather have no pixelation on his E! show than f-bombs.

adamblast

Bigot!!!

mikehunt

wouldn't "pie" or "apple pie" be more appropriate than "pizza"

BizRodian

Depends which way you swing!

I always figured it was allowed, but not in airtime that was considered for children or families.

I guess you learn something new everyday.

UAIOE

Now my dream of watching "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back" on network TV can come true!

ENDContra

Someone commented in the thread regarding the first episode of Line of Fire that it was pretty funny when Malloy got mad at the television and all he could say was "Crap crap crap!" and "Freakin". Anyone think the mouse will let him talk like a real mobster?

WINNER!

BizRodian

Pretty funny how that station thinks people watching Howard Stern would not want to see, or would be offended by tits.

Tom Campbell

Do you think the FCC would allow a trade? "We'll give you back the f-bomb if you let us have unpixelated nudity."

Doctorwho

[expletive] [deleted] [expletive] [deleted] [expletive] [deleted]

So you cant say homosapiens on this forum? That's both gay, dumb, and retarded.

So does this mean the forum mods and such will let this forum say the f word?

And what happens if someone posts a picture of a mans nipple and a womans nipple but doesn't specify which is which? what do the censors do?

And what happens if a guy mugs you but you're poor? Is it just incredably awkward?

I would post the pics of nipples but I dont want to look for man nipples on the internet.

marty888

No.... unless the "****ing sex" you are suggesting isn't actual ****ing, but some other form of sexual activity.

BizRodian

Another one I hear is that violence is "ok" because it's not "real" violence... whereas nudity is "real" nudity. I guess this means that CGI nudity is a-ok, but I haven't seen too much.

movielib

You can say homosapiens but you can't say **** sapiens.