Radio station appeals 'Shady' fine
Lawyers say society has reached a 'cultural crossroads'
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The FCC's June 1 indecency ruling "raises the specter of a dominant culture exerting its power to bar those groups who do not share its mores from the public forum," Citadel Communications said in appeal papers filed with the reg agency.
Citadel is parent company of KKMG-FM in Colorado Springs, which played the Eminem song at all hours throughout spring and summer 2000.
FCC's enforcement bureau determined that the edited version of the song was still provocative and raunchy. No other radio station has been fined for playing the song in question.
Program directors have long assumed "clean" versions of songs are OK for the airwaves, and they fear the FCC order will have a widespread chilling effect.
Citadel lawyers went one step further, saying society has accepted the Eminem song in question, as evidenced by the fact that it made nationwide play lists and spent 16 weeks on Billboard's Top 40. "The Real Slim Shady" also received this year's Grammy for rap solo performance.
"The emergence and concomitant popularity of artists like Eminem may evidence the fact that this country has reached a cultural crossroads, as when Ed Sullivan decreed that Elvis be shown only from the waist up ... the Doors refused to alter their lyrics for appearances on national television, 'All in the Family' addressed mature themes and more recent programs incorporated same-sex relationships," said Wiley, Rein & Fielding attorney Kathleen Kirby, who is representing Citadel, in appeal papers.
FCC topper Michael Powell hasn't commented publicly on the fine levied against KKMG.
Also Monday, new Democratic FCC commish Michael Copps joined veteran commish Gloria Tristani in saying the FCC should actually take a harder stand when it comes to indecency over the airwaves.
Specifically, Copps and Tristani criticized the FCC for dismissing two separate complaints regarding sexual references made by morning deejays.
