You can’t say that on TV

Washington Post: U2’s Bono and the F-word are playing starring roles in a most are venue: the U.S. Supreme Court.

For some three decades, the Federal Communications Commission determined that “fleeting” use of expletives did not meet the definition of indecency. Only repeated use of such words would trigger sanctions against broadcasters.

Then, in 2003, the rock star Bono used the F-word during the live, nationally televised Golden Globe Awards program. The FCC issued an edict that made broadcasters liable for even a single utterance of such language in programs aired between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when children are most likely to be watching. The justices are now being asked in the case of Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations to decide whether the FCC was on solid legal ground in reversing course. (The Washington Post Co., parent company of the newspaper and washingtonpost.com, owns broadcast and cable stations.)

Obligation

Broadcasters have an obligation to keep their programming clean, and most have done so, even when they were assured a free pass if they aired an inadvertent curse word. Self-discipline and market forces — in the form of advertisers that are often loath to be associated with off-color programs — have worked.

Against this backdrop, the FCC has failed to justify its sudden change of precedent, leaving the strong impression that its decision was capricious. It has also been mystifyingly inconsistent in applying its new standard.