End date 1978 | ||
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Citations 438 U.S. 726 (more)98 S. Ct. 3026; 57 L. Ed. 2d 1073; 1978 U.S. LEXIS 135; 43 Rad. Reg. 2d (P & F) 493; 3 Media L. Rep. 2553 Prior history Complaint granted, 56 F.C.C.2d 94 (1975); reversed, 181 U.S.App.D.C. 132, 556 F.2d 9 (1977); certiorari granted, 434 U.S. 1008 Majority Stevens, joined by Burger, Blackmun, Rehnquist, Powell Concurrence Powell, joined by Blackmun Dissent Brennan, joined by Marshall Ruling court Supreme Court of the United States Similar Miller v California, Reno v American Civil Libe, Ginsberg v New York, Virginia State Pharmac, Cohen v California | ||
Fcc v pacifica foundation george carlin s 7 dirty words
Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 U.S. 726 (1978) is a landmark United States Supreme Court decision that defined the power of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over indecent material as applied to broadcasting.
Contents
- Fcc v pacifica foundation george carlin s 7 dirty words
- George carlin and the fcc v pacifica foundation absurdity today talks ep 15 mirror
- Facts
- Holding
- Impact
- References
George carlin and the fcc v pacifica foundation absurdity today talks ep 15 mirror
Facts
In 1973, a father complained to the FCC that his son had heard the George Carlin routine "Filthy Words" broadcast one afternoon over WBAI, a Pacifica Foundation FM radio station in New York City. Pacifica received censure from the FCC, in the form of a letter of reprimand, for allegedly violating FCC regulations which prohibited broadcasting indecent material.
Holding
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the FCC action in 1978, by a vote of 5 to 4, ruling that the routine was "indecent but not obscene". The Court accepted as compelling the government's interests in:
The Court stated that the FCC had the authority to prohibit such broadcasts during hours when children were likely to be among the audience, and gave the FCC broad leeway to determine what constituted indecency in different contexts.
Impact
In 1997, Pacifica Radio "Living Room" host Larry Bensky prefaced an interview with Carlin by saying: "George Carlin, you're a very unusual guest for Pacifica Radio. You're probably the only person in the United States that we don't have to give The Carlin Warning to about which words you can't say on this program, because it's named after you."