Fleeting expletive

A fleeting expletive is a non-scripted verbal profanity or obscenity expressed and broadcast during a live television broadcast or radio broadcast. The term appears primarily in discussions of United States broadcasting law.

Contents 1 Notable examples 2 U.S. Supreme Court case 3 U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links

Notable examples

In chronological order:

• During the January 2003 Golden Globe Awards, Bono accepted an award exclaiming, "This is really, really, fucking brilliant."
• At the December 2003 Billboard Music Awards, Nicole Richie said, "Have you ever tried to get cowshit out of a Prada purse? It's not so fucking simple."
• On an episode of Big Brother 10, there was a heated argument with lots of muted expletives; however, one went through in the sentence "Memphis was in the fucking room".
• Jenny Slate said "and I fucking love you for that" during a parody of a talk show by biker women. It was her first appearances as a player on Saturday Night Live.^[1]
• On March 23, 2010, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, commenting on the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act during a live press conference, said to U.S. President Barack Obama, "this is a big fucking deal." The comment was picked up by CNN news microphones.^[2]
• On November, 19, 2011, during a live taping of ESPN's College GameDay at the University of Houston, College football analyst Lee Corso said, "Ah, fuck it" before he put on the headwear of Shasta, the University of Houston Cougars' mascot, demonstrating his prediction that the Cougars would beat the Mustangs of Southern Methodist University.^{[3] [4]} Corso's co-hosts Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler and their guest-speaker Carl Lewis laughed hysterically in response to his use of the expletive,^{[5] [6]} for which Corso later apologized. ^[7]

U.S. Supreme Court case

On March 17, 2008, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear, in September 2008, a case on whether the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is allowed to regulate the use of fleeting expletives on television broadcasts.^{[8][9][10][11]} The parties in the case are the Fox Broadcasting Company (supported by other television networks including ABC, CBS, and NBC) and the FCC.^{[8][9][10][11]} A federal appeals court had ruled in the favor of the networks; the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the FCC's appeal.^{[8][9][10][11]}

In a ruling issued April 28, 2009, the United States Supreme Court ruled to uphold the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fleeting expletive rule.^[12] The court reversed a lower court ruling in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York which found in favor of Fox Television that the FCC had not properly followed procedures in creating the rule. In the 5-4 ruling by Justice Antonin Scalia, "the court did not definitively settle the First Amendment implications of allowing a federal agency to censor broadcasts."^[13] Instead the court suggested the First Amendment issue should be raised in a Federal Appeals Court.

U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals

In a ruling announced July 13, 2010, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the FCC indecency policy on fleeting expletives. Calling it "unconstitutionally vague", the unanimous three judge panel found the policy could infringe upon the constitutionally protected First Amendment freedom of speech. According to the panel, the policy "created a chilling effect that goes far beyond the fleeting expletives at issue here", in part due to a lack of guidance on what content is considered offensive.^[14]

Fox released a statement stating, “We have always felt that the government’s position on fleeting expletives was unconstitutional,” and, “While we will continue to strive to eliminate expletives from live broadcasts, the inherent challenges broadcasters face with live television, coupled with the human element required for monitoring, must allow for the unfortunate isolated instances where inappropriate language slips through."^[15]

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski indicated the commission will be, “reviewing the court’s decision in light of our commitment to protect children, empower parents, and uphold the First Amendment.”"^[15]

See also

• Wardrobe malfunction, for fleeting nudity

References

Further reading

• Chidester, Treasa (Fall 2004). "What the #$%& is Happening on Television? Indecency in Broadcasting". CommLaw Conspectus 13 (1): 135–67. http://commlaw.cua.edu/res/docs/articles/v13/chidester.pdf. 
• Schneider, Matthew S. (November 2007). "Silenced: The Search for a Legally Accountable Censor and Why Sanitization of the Broadcast Airwaves Is Monopolization". Cardozo Law Review 29 (2): 891–925. http://www.cardozolawreview.com/PastIssues/29.2_schneider.pdf. 

External links

• Playful Commentary on June 2007 Decision by Federals Appeals Court