Goodbye Good Programming
When one thinks of original, successful radio shows in the U.S., one show definitely comes to mind, Howard Stern. The Howard Stern morning radio show has been the most successful radio show on the radio for some time now. Howard Stern created a show unlike any other; it is a morning radio show that has it all. The show has interviews with famous people, listeners can call in to the show with there opinions, current news, and most notably its sexual content and controversial opinions on what is happening in the world we live in. The show has always pushed the limits of freedom of speech while at the same time opened new doors and ideas within the limits. Currently in our country this show has become under fire by our government and is very close to being taken off the airwaves. This is just one show that is in jeopardy of being taken off the air.
Recently our government through its administrative agency for communications, the FCC, has decided to send a message to the corporate media to clean up their broadcasts. The FCC defines indecency as:
1. An average person, applying contemporary community standards, must find that the material, as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest.
2. The material must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable law.
3. The material, taken as a whole, must lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
The fine for broadcast indecency has been raised to $275,000.00 from $27,500.00 per instance. The problem that has arisen from this new interest in cleaning up broadcasts to protect the general public from being exposed to this indecency is that some of our best programming is in jeopardy. There are some huge corporations behind this programming such as Time Warner, Viacomm, Clear Channel, etc. these corporations are becoming concerned that the government is starting to focus attention on how big they have become and how much power they have to control the media.
Unfortunately, because of this new motivation to control our programming to the FCC?fs liking one avenue of our freedom of speech is being taken away from us. The public programming we currently have is perfectly acceptable and almost to conservative. It?fs not like we have one TV or radio station that everyone is forced to watch. If you don?ft like what your watching or listening to you can just change the channel or turn it off.
Without the proper oversight, however, the FCC might just be doing the complete opposite. As the technologies associated with communications have evolved, so have the messages that are being transmitted. In an effort to shield citizens from offensive speech, the United States government passed the Communications Act of 1934, which created the rules that a broadcaster would have to obey to remain on the air and restricted broadcasters from “utter[ing] any obscene, indecent, or profane language by means of radio communication” (Scalia 2). This ban on obscene language was only to be in effect from the hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. in an attempt try to limit children from hearing the offensive speech.
Bibliography: Justice.gov. (2014). USDOJ: CRM: Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.justice.gov/criminal/ceos/citizensguide/citizensguide_obscenity.html [Accessed: 7 Apr 2014].
...things keeping on changing. Obscenity is an issue that needs to be addressed now and in the future and this could only be done through the power of the highest court, The Supreme Court.
Electronic media content can be viewed differently according to personal opinions, but the First Amendment Rights of the United States Constitution lay the foundation for the legal system that is to be followed. These rights form a guide that help citizens have a stronger grasp on what is and isn’t acceptable within the eye of the law. Narrowing down to electronic media content, there has been a rise of tension involving first amendment rights of content regulations. The spectrum scarcity rationale has made it possible to control licensing schemes, along with direct content control to make sure rules are being followed according to the First Amendment. The differences between cable TV versus broadcasting are similar, yet contrasting.
Maybe a good place to start with this question is to define the terms “pornography” and “obscenity”. According to the text Communications Law: Liberties, Restraints, and the Modern Media, “pornography is a broad term used to describe all material that is sexually explicit and intended for the purpose of sexual arousal”. (Zelezny, p. 448). The term “obscenity”, according to the same text, “has taken on a narrower legal meaning, indicating a class of sexual material so offensive that it is deemed by the Supreme Court to have virtually no First Amendment protection” (Zelezny, p. 448).
‘I can’t define pornography, but I know it when I see it.’ (P. Stewart, US Supreme Court’) Justice Potter Stewart’s remarks in the Jacobellis Vs. Ohio Supreme Court case are infamous in both American law and pop culture. Since the inception of the first amendment, American law has excluded the use of profanity or obscene content from protected free speech. However, as Justice Stewart stated, courts and lawmakers have routinely struggled to outline what constitutes obscenities…… This struggle is largely in part to the fluid dynamic of morality in society.
Homeless individuals are known for taking hand outs and they prefer to plead for money rather than to go work for it. People assume most of the the money that is given to homeless people they spend it on drugs and alcohol because of the fact that many homeless people have drug and alcohol addictions. It is not uncommon to come across homeless youth and older homeless population that are known to abuse substances like drugs and alcohol. Because of the fact that homeless people have substance abuse problems, they tend face illnesses and infections. Many hard working Americans ask themselves “why don’t homeless people just get jobs?” The assumption is they are just lazy and unmotivated. Homeless people choose to live the life they live. Everyone goes through problems but not all people take the path homeless people do. The problems homeless people face is not an excuse for them to be helped and maintained by other hard working people. Although homelessness might be a choice to some, no one knows the hardships these people have gone through. Some assume these people are just lazy but in reality a lot of these homeless people have jobs of their own, they just can’t afford housing and a decent life. Everyone has their own opinion on homeless people, but that does not change the fact that one should still serve the homeless. Not because homeless people need help but because we are
The last poem “The Fish” illustrates the sorrow of life itself. The skin, the blood, the entrails, everything of the fish depicts vividly and dramatically. The poet seems to share the same pain with the fish observing the scene and enjoys the detail just like enjoying an artwork. The poet lets the fish go because she is totally touched by the process between life and death; she loves life but meanwhile, is deeply hurt by the life. In the poem, the fish has no fear towards her; the desire to life is in the moving and tragic details when faces the
When the social, educational, financial and health needs of a person are not satisfied through the family then they may be inclined towards criminal activities. There are some other family related factors that affect the behavior of children and they might go for criminal activities. Some of these factors include adaptation of bad parenting practices and styles, neglecting the child, child abuse and trend of criminal behavior in the family which is then learned by the child. It also includes a family history with mental illness, teenage pregnancy, substance use, school dropout and interpersonal conflicts among the family members (Cassel & Bernstein, 2007).
Individual radio and TV stations are responsible for selecting everything they broadcast. Stations are responsible for choosing their entertainment programming, as well as their programs concerning local issues, news, public affairs, religion, sports events, and other subjects. They also decide how their programs will be conducted and whether to edit or reschedule material for broadcasting.
Homelessness is not something that was created over night; it has existed for a long time; often we choose not to see the homeless, or bother with them, so we look the other way. Homelessness is not prejudice toward race, creed, or religion--it has no boundaries; all homeless people should not be stereotyped as being drug abusers or the mentally ill that have been released from mental hospitals. Homelessness is not a disease that a person can catch from bodily contact, but it certainly has afflicted many Americans. We need to find the cause of homelessness before we can find a solution. More money for more programs is the typical response, but we should look at what has already been instituted and reevaluate them.
· An average person, applying contemporary community standards, must find that the material, as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest;
I feel that censorship of controversial television advertisements is an unjust practice, which violates the first amendment in the Constitution.
Being from the South, church is implemented into our minds almost as soon as we come out of the womb. Family is the main reason that we are the religion that we are. Personally, I am a Christian of the Baptist denomination, and a pastor at my church. I believe family is one of the main reasons I am religious today. Nobody has a greater influence on us than our families and my family has had one of the greatest religious influences on my life. In the article it talks about the impact that family has on religion, and my family has had a huge impact on my religion.
In the article “Hate Radio” by Patricia J. Williams, the writer says that radio is a powerful source of media. It has influenced a lot of people. The power of media can change the course of history. The hosts on the radio such as Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern were also influencing a lot of people. The theme was not merely the specific intolerance on hot topics such as race and gender, but a much more general contempt for the world, a verbal stoning of anything different.