It was February when I wrote the blog titled DECENT LANGUAGE, and the subject of decent language is on my mind again, and for much the same reasons.
It was February when I wrote the blog titled DECENT LANGUAGE, and the subject of decent language is on my mind again, and for much the same reasons.
1.) We share a tradition on radio of “polite” speech, minus the vulgar language that is otherwise common in society;
2.) More and more programs, many from the internet, either have no limitations on language or push the edge;
3.) Most other media, especially movies and music, use even more “offensive” language than would be necessary to get their story across;
4.) Obscene language is standard in military, law enforcement and all “macho” situations where, for odd reasons, foul language is equated with authority;
5.) Public live entertainment, such as comedy mic nights, use floods of nasty talk way more than needed;
6.) Regular people of all ages have some friends where uncensored language goes.
There are two programs that bring my mind to this subject at this time: one of them has been on my schedule for awhile, the other only being considered…
The first is GEOLOGIC with George Hrab. George is a popular rock musician and very intelligent weekly podcaster who prefers to be as blunt as the mood strikes. I believe in the program.
The new one is RYE BREAD RADIO, a “live” comedy show from Chicago which is professional both technically and content wise, but with the “normal” blunt language of public entertainment. I’d like to run this show.
What I’m going to do as a temporary solution is wire up a “weak” second transmitter which will get switched on during these risky shows. That way I’ll be able to monitor the station, but the surrounding area will lose the signal.
Let me know your way of dealing with the language question.
Language How I Deal With Airing It
I mentioned in another post where I disconnected the antenna from my AM tx. and still had house coverage. This was done in an attempt to allow me to listen to satellite movie audio on headphones without being tethered by a wire and without exposing the neighborhood to content which I consider inappropriate for me to broadcast. I don’t trust that the AM range is sufficiently reduced by this technique plus movie audio is better in stereo.
The other way, which I use regularly, is to deploy my FM tx. During waking hours my wife listens around the house to classical music obtained from our cable subscription which I feed to the transmitter. To get adequate coverage around the house with her portable I have an antenna installed on the second story indoors which is fed by a coax from the tx. in the basement. This gives a “car radio” range of a couple of hundred feet outdoors so it is appears legal.
For use with movie audio I switch off the coax connection and use a whip on the tx. in the basement. The whip length is adjusted so the range is about 20 feet on my Walkman. The signal cannot be heard outside the house. Given the limited range and the after midnight operating hours it is unlikely anyone near by will hear this.
There are probably devices available which operate digitally or outside the BCB by which personal listening can be kept private but I didn’t pursue this due to added expense and complexity and because what I do appears to work.
Neil
dealing with language over the air
i had a couple of guest dj’s that come in to the studio and said some things over the air and i immediatly mute the mic on the board pot the djs mic down and say “dude, really! this is a family radio show! watch your mouth for petes sakes i dont need my listeners mad at me for putting that over the air!” and their was one little segment program i aired that talked a little bit raunchy and i passed out under the console and then i muted the computer channel and i apologized about the show over the air and ive never played it again! i was having a bad day when that happend and it was from my affilate too, AOL Radio.
Bad To The Bone
I’ve always been a tad bit lenient on foul language.
Typically I keep all the bad mouthed shows to air after 10pm, the FCC designated “Safe Harbor” 10p-6a.
And those air only on the Talk Station.
The Only Exception to this rule is the show that airs at 12 on The Crow. Sometimes the show can get somewhat raunchy, but usually no foul language.
Back For More
Neil, I like your solution better than my first idea, because the FM is much easier to “contain.” Even weak AM signals tend to travel.
Another thought comes and then goes…. if we had a Part 15 S.C.A. device we could put “special” programming on a sub-carrier and have the only radio capable of hearing that sub-channel. Maybe that should be our next “build-our-own” project!
abmedia1, I chuckled at your description of passing out under the console when language caught you. It reminds me of a true moment a few years back when I innocently said something on a full power station…..
During the morning shift on the 21.5kW station I ran 15-minute reels of tape with live announcements in between. I learned how to nap during the tapes with head on desk and jump awake for the announcements. Usually the copy was always the same, but one day the copy for a gas company had been changed, so I got caught reading “cold copy,” a script I had never seen before. Here is the part that happened:
“…and, the new gas range features an automatic cock timer that, ah, that’s clock timer.. that turns the oven off and on..”
Later, Sib, the program director, said she almost drove off the road and wondered how I “held it together” during the rest of the spot. It wasn’t easy, but I could picture my career being over.
Carl Carl Carl
LOL!!! Carl i know you didnt mean to say that but that is pretty flippin hillarous the lady from aol radio molly and her segment “molly rants” and cussed about something about torture sex and thats when i passed out about it cause the whole thing was raunchy and just plain wrong in the middle of broad daylight i was seeing stars and i was flashblinded! and i heard that molly got in trouble because of that segment and later apologized in her next segment and i hope this indecentcy doesnt happend again. or im pulling the plug.
“Private Transmission”
I have used Part 15 transmitters to send
TV audio around the house. And yup,
there sure are times when you don’t
want anyone beyond your property to
hear the audio.
If the receiver is selective enough, you can
always park the transmit frequency next to
a really strong station.
In my area 106.9 is so strong that it overloads
most radios. Crummy analog radios will hear
the station from 106 to 108 MHz. Digital radios
have trouble too. The signal will bleed over to
adjacent channels. But sometimes I park my
C Crane on 106.7 MHz for movie audio.
I don’t have to worry because that transmission
isn’t going anywhere!
Best Wishes,
Bruce, Dog Radio Studio 2
One More Time
So you say, Molly, from AOL radio. Got it. Is there a phone number?
OH, I didn’t know I was on.
I’ll be right back, I have some more information.
Sharing An Email
At the outset I named Rye Bread Radio as one of the language programs being discussed in this thread, and I tipped off the producer about this blog so he could realize what we are saying. His reply is very good to share:
“The language issue is understandably a concern, and it is something I am going to address with our team during our next show meeting. We’re able to express our point of views without using offensive or overly ‘colorful’ language. I enjoy our honest talk, but I’d like to challenge my team to put a muzzle on some of the vulgar content – not just for our affiliates, but for our advertisers.
“Believe it or not, we were actually on a local FM frequency two years back – that was college radio, with a wattage of 1,000 (not much, but good enough). I must admit, I like the restrictions of terrestrial radio, for the simple fact that it forces you to be more creative with the way you convey a viewpoint or express your thoughts. We’ve been doing that on some of our more recent episodes, and I’ve received quite a few emails from our fans telling me how much they love the new creative approach.
“I ultimately have your best interests in mind, and with you putting faith in us as a viable program for your station, I want you to know that we’ll continue to maintain the fine quality of programming you have running on your station.
“This will be the push we need to continue the format and bring our wry
entertainment to the masses.”
End of quote.
You can see from this sensitivity and thoughtfulness why I consider this programmer worthwhile. Oh, producer-host’s name is Akeem Lawanson at the website
http://www.ryebreadradio.com
you didnt have to do that
you didnt have to do that carl cuz i was doing research too. plus it was back in june something like that. i looked up the past archives, but molly was talking about cars being tortured but torture i though sex and pain torture it was something and i did some research what she was talking about and it was a scene from animated film, any way how come a g rated film could have torture in the film. i always got things mixed up but some how i got misunderstood,i just probaly need to look it a little more deep, but in both ways besides the language she brings up a pretty good point but i wish it didnt get raunchy
I Just Thought
I just thought that if I could meet this Molly woman she and I could go to lunch and talk about it.
But, I over estimate what I can do, and things go back to normal.
I find it very interesting,
I find it very interesting, in this era of radio where it seems that anything goes, that a number of Part 15 broadcasters appear to be more concerned about language and the appropriateness of content than the licensed stations.
I too am very concerned about these things. To the point where 1) I won’t play certain songs, even if they have been ‘edited’ for radio (I mean really, hearing the beginning and end of a word with a short bleep in the middle, and you can’t tell what they’re saying?). And if I do play a few things that are a bit edgier (not in language, but in general theme), I try to make sure that they are on later. Sure, it’s censorship, but then, it’s my radio station.
On Censorship
I agree with ArtisanRadio’s position except that I do not believe that his control of on-air content amounts to censorship. What I have thought for years is that the licensee or station owner is fully in charge of broadcast content.
Censorship is the suppression of information or speech in a domain where one has no authority, be it someone else’s mind, home, education or medium.
ArtisanRadio could not tell part15.us what to allow, nor could part15.us tell kdx what to broadcast. The most one party can do is complain or suggest to another party.
And to keep this conversation within bounds, I remind we’re talking about “speech decency,” NOT something in a different category, such as news content or book banning.
EDITING TO ADD: But I think it IS censorship for the FCC or “community standard” to dictate what a radio station cannot say. The FCC should manage frequency allocation, which is their sole purpose. The notion of “community standard” is a euphemism for mob rule.
Taking Control
As of now we have a method for managing our two weekly “troubled language” programs.
Our FULL low power AM station shuts down Tuesday at 7 PM and Friday at 8 PM so the fear of transmitting offensive language is quelled.
There is a second transmitter, our LOWER low power transmitter, which takes over at those times.
Every solution has a problem.
What the FCC Says
This is what the FCC says about the language situation:
§ 73.3999 Enforcement of 18 U.S.C. 1464 (restrictions on the transmission
of obscene and indecent material).
(a) No licensee of a radio or television broadcast station shall
broadcast any material which is obscene.
(b) No licensee of a radio or television broadcast station shall
broadcast on any day between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. any material which is
indecent.
[ 60 FR 44439 , Aug. 28, 1995]
Evidently they reference a portion of U.S. Code where the ban on bad speech is set. There appears to be a difference between “obscene” and “indecent,” which could get confusing.
Even though this section of the rules is not Part 15, I think all low power station operators would honor this rule as safe operating practice.
A Third Word
After much discussion we have not made a clear distinction between “obscene” and “indecent.”
If we move questionable programs to the after-10 time slot, we must hope that they are only “indecent,” but will always worry that there could be some “obscene” speech mixed in.
To confuse things even further, a consultant asked, “What about lewd speech?”