George Carlin (And His Impact On The FCC)
Tech/telecom attorney David Oxenford posted an interesting item on his Broadcast Law Blog on Monday morning as newscasts reported the passing of George Carlin. The comedian effectively wrote the indecency regulations that most broadcasters abide by -- without the FCC ever having had to adopt the regulations that he attributed to them.
In the broadcast world, Carlin was probably best known for his routine about the seven words that you can never say on TV. When the shtick aired on a New York radio station, a parent complained and the resulting FCC action against the station went all the way to the Supreme Court. The court upheld the right of the FCC to adopt indecency rules for broadcast media to channel speech that is indecent, though not legally obscene, into hours when children are not likely to be listening.
Read Oxenford's full post here.
Join the Discussion
The National Journal Group has the right (but not the obligation) to monitor the comments and to remove any materials it deems inappropriate.
Comments powered by Disqus