Utley shouldn't have been chastised. I commend him for rallying the crowd of fanatics.
The FCC does limit the use of vulgarities on broadcast channels...and on radio broadband.
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Censorship Laws
Easy Guide to Censorship Laws
Censorship Laws
The common censorship laws passed in the U.S. should be understood in the context of the generally wide latitude allowed for freedom of expression in the country through the avenue of the 1st Amendment to the Constitution. As such, censorship is not as widely applied in the U.S. as it is in other countries, but the country’s legal system still allows for more concerted censorship laws to be applied in instances where other considerations are deemed more important than the rights to self-expression of the individuals involved. As such,
some censorship laws are administered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to prevent “indecent” content from being broadcast on “free” airwaves.
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Radio and television broadcasts into people's homes and cars on programs likely to be heard by impressionable children should be (and are) subject to reasonable censorship.
Actually they're not. There's vague language about community standards, but that's it. There are no real "seven words you can't say on television".
Those things are self-policed, because the way it works is that FCC responds to audience complaints in terms of, if serious enough, questioning the licensee's fitness to continue to hold a license. But absent significant complaints, nothing happens. There is no FCC censor board or review board or anything of the kind.
It comes down to mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter. What we need is for people to stop pretending that they mind.
Btw I'm not a lawyer but I am a broadcast professional, and what your site says about FCC censorship laws is just poppycock. There's no such thing.
What you seem to espouse is freedom to scream "**** you!" back at the preacher in the pulpit when he calls for the congregation to bow their heads in prayer during the Sunday morning worship hour....that, rather than having a double standard depending on where you are. After all, we do say that in the course of daily conversations.
Actually, we have that freedom to do it in church, but courteous adults know better than to exercise it. The same can be applied where you are...as in "in front of a public broadcast microphone" or "off the record".
I haven't brought up anything about preachers in pulpits or the like. I'm talking about the double standard of speech used in broadcast versus what exists in real life.
You don't believe my site?...check this one...from the horse's mouth.
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Obscene, Indecent and Profane Broadcasts | FCC.gov
Obscene, Indecent and Profane Broadcasts
It’s Against the Law
It is a violation of federal law to air obscene programming at any time. It is also a violation of federal law to air indecent programming or profane language during certain hours. Congress has given the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the responsibility for administratively enforcing these laws. The FCC may revoke a station license, impose a monetary forfeiture or issue a warning if a station airs obscene, indecent or profane material.
Obscene Broadcasts Are Prohibited at All Times
Obscene material is not protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution and cannot be broadcast at any time. The Supreme Court has established that, to be obscene, material must meet a three-pronged test:
An average person, applying contemporary community standards, must find that the material, as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest;
The material must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable law; and
The material, taken as a whole, must lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.
Indecent Broadcast Restrictions
The FCC has defined broadcast indecency as “language or material that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium, sexual or excretory organs or activities.” Indecent programming contains patently offensive sexual or excretory material that does not rise to the level of obscenity.
The courts have held that indecent material is protected by the First Amendment and cannot be banned entirely. It may, however, be restricted in order to avoid its broadcast during times of the day when there is a reasonable risk that children may be in the audience.
Consistent with a federal indecency statute and federal court decisions interpreting the statute, the Commission adopted a rule that broadcasts -- both on television and radio -- that fit within the indecency definition and that are aired between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. are prohibited and subject to indecency enforcement action.
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If you don't believe me now, you are simply in a state of denial.
My extension of your argument regarding double standards while "in church" or "out" is based on your argument of regarding double standard while "on air" or "not".
It's not really a double standard that applies to either. It's higher standard for "in church" and "on air".