Will the real Slim Shady please shut up
What's the deal with the FCC fining (censoring) a Colorado radio station for playing the _censored_ version of one of his songs? http://www.nme.com/NME/External/News/News_Story/0,1004,32248,00.html # # SHADY MOVES LEAD TO FINE FOR RADIO STATION # # A radio station in the US has been fined $7,000 for playing # EMINEM's 'THE REAL SLIM SHADY', even though the tune had been # edited for broadcast. # # The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) slapped the fine # on KKMG-FM of Colorado Springs because, it said, the station # had be censured despite the edit, because of the tone of the # tune. # # "The edited version of the song contains unmistakable offensive # sexual references. In this regard, portions of the lyrics contain # sexual references in conjunction with sexual expletives that # appear intended to pander and shock," they said in a statement. # # Two months ago, the FCC issued new guidelines to be used when # determining what is obscene and what is decent and made it clear # that innuendo was a factor, even if specific expletives were # missing. # # The fine has been roundly condemned. Hilary Rosen, chief of the # RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) told Variety # magazine that: "It would be a disgrace if the FCC were to impose # a violation on a radio station because they didn't like the # 'suggestive' nature of a song. That goes right to the heart of # idea-based censorship." # # A spokesperson for Citadel Communications, KKMG-FM's parent # company, said the fine set a dangerous precedent. # # "The danger involved is that folks at the station level can't # take comfort in the fact that something labelled 'radio edit # version' is in compliance with the FCC's rules," he said
George@Orwellian.Org wrote:
What's the deal with the FCC fining (censoring) a Colorado radio station for playing the _censored_ version of one of his songs?
Clue me in here chaps - what's the deal with anyone censoring anything at all? You guys are always telling us that your nth amendment guarantees freedom of speech unlike us poor benighted eurosheep. If you now tell me that freedom of speech doesn't actually apply on commercial radio... No wonder so many foreigners listen to the BBC World Service. If you are going to have government-censored radio and thinly veiled propaganda you might as well have *good* government-censored radio and thinly veiled propaganda. Ken
On Thu, 7 Jun 2001 George@Orwellian.Org wrote:
What's the deal with the FCC fining (censoring) a Colorado radio station for playing the _censored_ version of one of his songs?
"If any sign of pleasure is exhibited, report to me and it will be prohibited! so shall it be! This is the Land of the Free!"
http://www.nme.com/NME/External/News/News_Story/0,1004,32248,00.html # # SHADY MOVES LEAD TO FINE FOR RADIO STATION # # A radio station in the US has been fined $7,000 for playing # EMINEM's 'THE REAL SLIM SHADY', even though the tune had been # edited for broadcast. # # The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) slapped the fine # on KKMG-FM of Colorado Springs because, it said, the station # had be censured despite the edit, because of the tone of the # tune. # # "The edited version of the song contains unmistakable offensive # sexual references. In this regard, portions of the lyrics contain # sexual references in conjunction with sexual expletives that # appear intended to pander and shock," they said in a statement. # # Two months ago, the FCC issued new guidelines to be used when # determining what is obscene and what is decent and made it clear # that innuendo was a factor, even if specific expletives were # missing. # # The fine has been roundly condemned. Hilary Rosen, chief of the # RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) told Variety # magazine that: "It would be a disgrace if the FCC were to impose # a violation on a radio station because they didn't like the # 'suggestive' nature of a song. That goes right to the heart of # idea-based censorship." # # A spokesperson for Citadel Communications, KKMG-FM's parent # company, said the fine set a dangerous precedent. # # "The danger involved is that folks at the station level can't # take comfort in the fact that something labelled 'radio edit # version' is in compliance with the FCC's rules," he said
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At 06:03 PM 06/07/2001 +0100, Ken Brown wrote:
Clue me in here chaps - what's the deal with anyone censoring anything at all? You guys are always telling us that your nth amendment guarantees freedom of speech unlike us poor benighted eurosheep. If you now tell me that freedom of speech doesn't actually apply on commercial radio...
It depends. If you're talking about obscenity on the radio or internet, or commercial speech like tobacco advertising, then, no, the First Amendment isn't about that, it's about protecting political speech. Of course, if you're talking about election campaign finances, and whether somebody can spend their own money to promote their political beliefs, that's a much different story - elections are *far* too important to allow that sort of thing. Maybe *I'm* Slim Shady...
No wonder so many foreigners listen to the BBC World Service. If you are going to have government-censored radio and thinly veiled propaganda you might as well have *good* government-censored radio and thinly veiled propaganda.
Yeah. The US equivalent, National Public Radio and its relatives, used to be a reasonably adequate knockoff of the BBC and CBC. Over the last few years, it's increasingly turned into a propaganda engine for corporatism, brought to you by a grant from Archer Daniels Midland, Big Oil 1, Big Oil 2, etc., with less of the interesting in-depth foreign coverage. This has unfortunately also happened to Pacifica Radio, the socialist network that used to carry obviously slanted but interesting coverage of international activities. But it's now getting about 15% of its funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, in spite of its previous claims to not take corporate advertising (which would affect its content), and it's gotten watered down to the point that it not only would probably not fight the Seven Dirty Words You Can't Say On TV case, it's become almost as insipid as PBS and the Capitalist Broadcasting System.
participants (4)
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Alan Olsen -
Bill Stewart -
George＠Orwellian.Org -
Ken Brown