FCC and radio

As we noted in class Wednesday, March 16, one of the keys to being informed about radio is to understand how radio--one of the eight major forms of the mass media of communications--falls under the purview of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC is directed by five commissioners appointed by the U.S. president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate for five-year terms. The current five commissioners, among the most powerful folks in Washington, hail from Connecticut, Kansas, South Carolina, Washington, D.C. and New York.

The FCC has no control whatsoever over print media (newspapers, magazines, newsletters...) but the FCC does come into play with any sort of electronic media that relies on use of the public airwaves. Thus, radio and TV have to meet certain FCC guidelines or standards. (Important to mention here that neither satellite radio (Sirius XM) nor Internet radio is regulated by the FCC).

Why is it, then, that print media escape scrutiny by the FCC--when radio stations and TV stations do not?

Because radio stations and TV stations are viewed as public trustees of the public airwaves. There's a limited number of frequencies available on the electromagnetic spectrum, and, but for the FCC (which assigns a frequency to a radio station) that spectrum would be a jumbled mess. Radio frequencies would overlap or interfere with one another to such an extent that listeners wouldn't be able to understand anything!

Key point: For a radio station to be on the air in the U.S., it first has to be licensed by the FCC. And every so many years, that same station comes up for re-licensing. A radio station has to operate consistent with the "public interest, convenience and necessity" in order to keep its license. It's also the case, as we noted in class, that the FCC tells a station what frequency it can broadcast on, how much power it can have, and where its transmitter or tower can be located.

As to a radio station losing its FCC license, that is very rare, but it does happen. Some reasons for license revocation include proof that the station:

1. Broadcasts obscenity or profanity or sexually explicit material between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. (when the FCC says children are more likely to be listening).
2. Spreads messages that are racist or bigoted.
3. Unfairly treats a political candidate (an example would be a station charging a low advertising rate for one candidate's commercial, while an opposing candidate had to pay a much higher rate for a commercial of equal time and placement during the day or night).
4. Broadcasts libelous, false or defamatory messages
5. Has a manager or owner or other key player who has been charged or with a serious criminal offense.

With regard to #1 above, a station runs the risk of losing its FCC license (and thus its ability to stay on the air) if it broadcasts INDECENT material. But this is a sticky, murky area to get a handle on. Because what, exactly, is indecent material?

(A famous U.S. Supreme Court justice once declared: "I don't know what obscenity is but I know it when I see it!")

At times, it seems to be somewhat subjective as to what the FCC considers indecent.

Consider the half-time show during the 2004 Super Bowl with singers Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake. In the heat of the performance, Timberlake ripped off part of Jackson's costume, exposing one of her breasts to about 90 million viewers in America and a much larger worldwide audience. CBS, which broadcast the Super Bowl that year, apologized, but the FCC still investigated. The result: CBS was fined $550,000.

CBS appealed the decision, and the fine was later overturned. But it was still a big hassle and a lot of legal expense for the network. (Better that the half-time show incident had never happened!)

Okay, so what kind of material might be considered indecent, obscene or profane and thus frowned upon by the FCC?

That's always a murky question, but the U.S. Supreme Court has offered a few guidelines:

1. The standard for obscenity is set by "individual community standards." This means there is no national standard for obscenity or indecency. What is declared as obscene or indecent in Abington, Va., might be acceptable in LA or NYC. A local community can establish its own standards for what material should be protected by the First Amendment.

2. The work (or in the case of radio or TV, the broadcast or program) must be "taken as a whole." It's not enough for a program to be declared obscene on the basis, for example, of one sexually explicit statement or one or two references to the "F word." The "work as a whole" must be sexually explicit or obscene.

3. The work (or broadcast) must appeal to "prurient interests." Prurient means overly lustful or lewd or a perverted interest in nudity, sex or excretory functions. Likewise, a broadcast program that has "serious, literary, artistic, political or scientific value" cannot be outlawed or banned by the FCC. A broadcast, for example, about sexual health, birth control, alternative lifestyles, online dating or teen suicide might offend or upset some listeners. But it would not be deemed prurient. And thus it would be protected by the First Amendment.

As an aside (and you can read about this in our textbook) some people complain that they are offended by messages broadcast by radio or TV. But just because someone is offended doesn't mean that the material disseminated on the airwaves is indecent or obscene. Beyonce, for example, created quite a stir at the half-time show of the 2016 Super Bowl with her "Formation" song and dance performance of that song. Some felt that she was critical of the police and fomenting tensions between the police and certain segments of society. But what Beyonce sang and danced during that show is definitely protected by the First Amendment. Here is her performance, in case you missed it:







Enough for right now about the FCC and radio. Looking forward to our field trip visit to WEHC-FM 90.7 tomorrow!