CIVIL LIBERTIES

CSPAN USES 'FUCK' AND 'SHIT'

SO WHERE HAS ALL the obscenity hassle gotten us? To a broadcast of a
court hearing on the matter in which CSPAN viewers were treated to the
words "fuck" and "shit." Does this mean a huge fine for CSPAN, or for
the judges who permitted the words to be use? In the end it's meant to
protect children, but your editor learned the limits of that when one of
his came home from preschool at the age of three and clled him a "doo
doo fucker."

CNN - Yesterday morning on live TV, on the staid cable network C-SPAN,
judges and attorneys repeatedly used the F-word, and the S-word, and
even some longer but equally volatile words. . . They were discussing
Nicole Richie and Cher, "Saving Private Ryan" and awards shows, the CBS
"Early Show" and newscasts - and what words were and were not
appropriate on broadcast television. The occasion was an hour and 20
minutes of oral arguments in the case of "Fox Broadcasting v. Federal
Communications Commission," broadcast live from New York's U.S. Court of
Appeals, Second Circuit. . .

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/12/20/decency.hearing/index.html

WALL STREET JOURNAL - The FCC can't do anything about expletives being
used on cable shows, but it regularly fines radio stations for airing
that sort of language. Sure enough, the s-words and f-words were flying
this morning during the hearing, which C-SPAN broadcast in full, without
bleeps. During the hearing, to make a point, Phillips used the words and
phrases "motherf--," "eat s-" and "f- the USA."

C-SPAN spokeswoman Jennifer Moire said the cable network's executives
considered the hearing was in the public interest. "Our judgment is that
it would survive any test. We think the FCC would view it in context,"
she said.

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