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.