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NBC Comments on FCC Bono Reversal
By JONATHAN D. SALANT, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - For broadcasters seeking more guidance on what is indecent, federal regulators have some warning: Don't use the F-word.
The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday overruled its staff and declared that an expletive uttered by rock star Bono on NBC last year was both indecent and profane. The agency made it clear that virtually any use of the F-word was inappropriate for over-the-air radio and television.
"The 'F-word' is one of the most vulgar, graphic and explicit descriptions of sexual activity in the English language," the commission said Thursday. "The fact that the use of this word may have been unintentional is irrelevant; it still has the same effect of exposing children to indecent language."
But the commissioners did not propose a fine for Bono's expletive during the 2003 Golden Globe Awards because, they said, they had never before said that virtually any use of the F-word violated its rules.
Indeed, the commission specifically rejected earlier findings that occasional use of the F-word was acceptable, including a ruling by its enforcement bureau last October that Bono's comment was not indecent or obscene because he did not use the word to describe a sexual act.
The FCC received hundreds of complaints after Bono, the lead singer of the Irish rock group U2, said, "This is really, really, f------ brilliant," and FCC Chairman Michael Powell asked his fellow commissioners to overturn the staff decision.
To avoid a repeat incident, NBC aired this year's Golden Globes broadcast on a 10-second delay. ABC did the same with its telecast of the Academy Awards show.
The FCC said such technology should have been deployed a year ago. "The ease with which broadcasters today can block even fleeting words in a live broadcast is an element in our decision to act upon a single and gratuitous use of a vulgar expletive," the commission said.
The decision also marked the first time that the FCC cited a four-letter word as profane; the commission previously equated profanity with language challenging God's divinity.
NBC said in a statement: "We believe the commission made the right decision in not fining us over the regrettable Bono incident. As we've previously said, Bono's utterance was unacceptable and we regret it happened."
By JONATHAN D. SALANT, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - For broadcasters seeking more guidance on what is indecent, federal regulators have some warning: Don't use the F-word.
The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday overruled its staff and declared that an expletive uttered by rock star Bono on NBC last year was both indecent and profane. The agency made it clear that virtually any use of the F-word was inappropriate for over-the-air radio and television.
"The 'F-word' is one of the most vulgar, graphic and explicit descriptions of sexual activity in the English language," the commission said Thursday. "The fact that the use of this word may have been unintentional is irrelevant; it still has the same effect of exposing children to indecent language."
But the commissioners did not propose a fine for Bono's expletive during the 2003 Golden Globe Awards because, they said, they had never before said that virtually any use of the F-word violated its rules.
Indeed, the commission specifically rejected earlier findings that occasional use of the F-word was acceptable, including a ruling by its enforcement bureau last October that Bono's comment was not indecent or obscene because he did not use the word to describe a sexual act.
The FCC received hundreds of complaints after Bono, the lead singer of the Irish rock group U2, said, "This is really, really, f------ brilliant," and FCC Chairman Michael Powell asked his fellow commissioners to overturn the staff decision.
To avoid a repeat incident, NBC aired this year's Golden Globes broadcast on a 10-second delay. ABC did the same with its telecast of the Academy Awards show.
The FCC said such technology should have been deployed a year ago. "The ease with which broadcasters today can block even fleeting words in a live broadcast is an element in our decision to act upon a single and gratuitous use of a vulgar expletive," the commission said.
The decision also marked the first time that the FCC cited a four-letter word as profane; the commission previously equated profanity with language challenging God's divinity.
NBC said in a statement: "We believe the commission made the right decision in not fining us over the regrettable Bono incident. As we've previously said, Bono's utterance was unacceptable and we regret it happened."
