The FCC is around to make sure that those who care about community standards do not have to be surrounded by offensive language in daily media. This truly is a worthy cause, but seeing as how it angers so many other people, the FCC needs to be modified. I have come across several ways to allow uncensored language in media, while not offending those who care about community standards. The first way is to encourage the use of the V-chip, a part of all newer televisions that allows parents to block shows they might find offensive. If more parents who care about community standards used the V-chip, it could be argued that in any instance where offensive language exits a television’s speakers and enters the ears of someone who is offended by that language, that person is to blame because what they block is decided by them. This use of the V-chip would not only allow people who care about community standards to get what they want, but it would also allow those who would rather enjoy uncensored television to have their way as well.
There is also a way to keep everyone content with the FCC’s regulation of the radio. I propose that radio stations should send out two signals on close frequencies, one signal carrying the censored version of a station and one carrying the uncensored version. The application of this system could be implemented in two ways. New radios could be produced with a censor option that automatically picks up the censored version of radio stations, or there could be a set “equation” for determining which version of a station is censored and which one is not. This “equation” would be something as simple as “the censored version is .05 above the the uncensored version”. We have all learned from our class that radios can pick up signals like this, but they are not equipped with the technology to do so. Therefore, that technology would have to be implemented as well for this idea to work.
