Foreword
Ever since the early days ofcommercial radio, the Federal Government has had a role in dictating standardsof decency in programming broadcast over the public airwaves. Current law,which has its roots in the Radio Act of 1927, makes it unlawful to “utter any obscene, indecent, or profane language on television orradio. The Federal Communications Commission(FCC) is the government agency tasked with establishing guidelines andregulating broadcasters, and it enforces its standards of broadcast decency byissuing fines and license suspensions. For more than 30 years, the FCC hasruled that language that “depicted sexual and excretory activities in a patently offensive manner…
