Fucking ‘Inquirer’ Continues To Not Drop F-Bombs

The always interesting Gail Shister writes an article in today’s Inquirer about the dangers PBS stations face with the new FCC fines, which now go up to $325,000. A PBS station in San Mateo, Calif., was recently fined for broadcasting Martin Scorcese’s The Blues — which no station was fined for when it originally aired in 2004.

Shister talks with new PBS boss Paula Kerger, who says that she has warned stations about re-airing the critically-acclaimed documentary Eyes on the Prize because it contains one curse word in episode six:

PBS’s warning to stations concerns a single utterance of the F-word in archival footage in episode six, “Bridge to Freedom.” The Oscar-nominated “Freedom” chronicles the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., in 1965. The segment’s first broadcast will be at 10 p.m. Oct. 16 on WHYY.

Though the FCC allows “indecent and/or profane material” to air in the so-called safe harbor between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., PBS is concerned about the time slots in which its 348 member stations will schedule their remaining three “plays” of the six episodes.

WHYY, for example, will run back-to-back episodes at 2 p.m. Sundays on Oct. 8, 15 and 22.

PBS won’t be bleeping the offending one curse word. Margaret Drain, VP of national programming for WGBH Boston, says, “It would be absurd, in my mind, to bleep it.”

And, what is the offending line?

The F-word was discovered during a routine prescreening by executives at Boston’s WGBH, producer of the American Experience banner, under which Prize runs, says Margaret Drain, vice president of national programming at the station.

In the scene, James Forman, a member of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, then considered a black radical group, was addressing marchers as they tried to confront Alabama Gov. George Wallace, who had banned the event. Some marchers were being beaten by police.

“If we can’t sit at the table,” Forman says, “let’s knock the f-ing legs off.” He quickly adds, “Excuse me.”

It’s good to know that, even without the threat of FCC fines, the Inquirer still won’t run the word fucking. It would be absurd, in my mind, to print it. Bull feathers.

Gail Shister | Shadow of censorship over ‘Prize’ [Inquirer]

WHYY Sends Out Greatest Press Release Of All Time

ELKINS PARK RESIDENT INTERNS AT WHYY

Bernard Langer, 19, of Elkins Park, is currently interning in the Radio News department at WHYY 91FM. A sophomore at Vassar College, Langer is an avid WHYY listener, and views the internship as an opportunity to get involved in an organization he believes in.

Under the direction of Elisabeth Perez-Luna, WHYY’s Radio News Director, Langer conducts phone interviews, attends and records local press conferences, and writes scripts for radio broadcasts.

For Langer, attending press conferences and writing scripts is an extremely rewarding experience. Recently, Langer was pleasantly surprised to hear his script about gambling in Philadelphia on the radio while driving home from the station.

Langer has yet to determine his concentration at Vassar College, however, his affinity for WHYY has been cemented during his internship. As an intern at WHYY, Langer has not only expanded his knowledge of the radio news industry, he has also made a meaningful contribution to WHYY.

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WHYY what a diverse community has in common. WHYY, through television, radio and other communications services, makes our region a better place, connecting each of us to the world’s richest ideas and all of us to each other.

Update: Oh! WHYY sent over photographic evidence, too.

In Their Next Bit Of Cross-Promotion, Marty Moss-Coane Will Execute The Stone Cold Stunner On Brutus ‘The Barber’ Beefcake

A tipster has just notified us of the sponsor that was just on the traffic report on WHYY 91 FM:

Wrestlemania 22, this weekend on pay-per-view.

You know, I’m for all the sponsorship WHYY can get, but I’m not quite sure there’s too much of a professional wrestling/public radio crossover audience. Just sayin’.

W-H-Y-Y? Because we like you!

The description of the first hour of today’s Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane, which airs daily on WHYY-FM:

Why the radical and revolutionary founding father, Thomas Paine still matters today. Paine, the author of the famous “Common Sense” pamphlet, helped ignite the American Revolution. He was also a Philadelphia resident.

Gee, Marty, where did you ever get such an idea?

MP3 download of show [WHYY]
Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane [WHYY]
Bring the Paine! [PW]