Re: Complaint Filed With FCC Over Opie & Anthony's Latest Stunt

["Aaron 'Bishop' Read" <aread@speakeasy.net>]

At 05:04 PM 8/17/2002, Sid Schweiger wrote:
> >>Tatsteless behavior, but what FCC regulation was
>broken?<<
>
>I don't remember the exact language, but it's the "description of sexual 
>activities appealing to the prurient interest" in the FCC's standard for 
>applying the obscenity/indecency statute, and doing so outside the "safe 
>harbor" hours. (18 USC § 1464, 47 CFR § 73.3999)
>
>Sid Schweiger

I concur with Sid's post.   The whole dividing line between indecent & 
obscene on the radio has historically (and still currently) been decided by 
the city of license - i.e. the listeners.  NOT by the feds.  The FCC has 
repeatedly shown that if your audience can take it, they don't 
mind.  However, as of late, if your audience doesn't like it and complains, 
the FCC will put the smackdown on you (compared to 5 or 10 years ago 
anyway).   It puts stations in what I feel is an unfair situation of not 
knowing how far is too far until they've already crossed the line.

The fines in the recent and now semi-infamous KBOO and KKMG cases were 
pretty steep given the fairly small markets they were in (Portland, OR and 
Pueblo, CO, respectively) and the kinds of stations they are (non-comm 
community station and a commercial "Magic" station).   It will be 
interesting to see if the FCC scales the fine to the level of the station 
or sticks with the hard numbers.  (fwiw - the fine in the KKMG case was 
later reversed on appeal to the FCC)

I think the dividing line will be whether or not this fiasco gets tied up 
somehow in the recent priest/child-molestation scandals.  If it does, you 
can bet it'll be national news and the whole thing will spiral out of 
control.   While it's EXTREMELY unlikely the license will be pulled (I can 
see that happening only if a long chain of specific and unlikely events 
occurs, and they involve President Bush and the Pope getting involved so 
you can imagine just how unlikely they are!) I think it's possible that if 
this thing goes national the fines will grow to more "ouchy" level but 
still chump change in the grand scheme of things.

The lawsuits on the other hand...that's another story altogether.

_________________________________________________________
Aaron "Bishop" Read       aread@speakeasy.net
Fried Bagels Consulting   www.friedbagels.com
AOL-IM: ReadAaron         Brighton, MA 02135
"I'm weird, but around here it's hardly noticeable."