PAST ARTICLES AND EDITORIAL BOARDS A Chilly Wait in Radioland: The FCC Forces "Indecent" Radio Broadcasters to
Censor Themselves or Face the Music
Steven Nudelman
2 J.L. & Pol'y 115 (1994)
In this Note, the author analyzes how the procedural aspects of the FCC's enforcement of its indecent speech rules have encouraged certain radio talk show hosts to self-censor the material that they broadcast. The author points out that, because the FCC does not enforce its indecency rules in a uniform and speedy manner, radio talk show personalities, in many instances, have chosen to self-censor their programming rather than risk a time consuming and potentially expensive FCC indecent speech investigation.

The Note provides the reader with an overview of Supreme Court jurisprudence in cases involving both the First Amendment rights of radio broadcasters and the constitutional right to free expression in general. The Note then addresses whether the FCC's enforcement of its indecency rules against radio broadcasters interferes with a broadcaster's right to send, and the right of interested listeners to receive, a message entitled to full First Amendment protection that remains untainted by self-censorship. Arguing that the FCC's current enforcement procedures at the very least chill the free speech of certain radio broadcasters, the author suggests that the FCC adopt faster statutory enforcement mechanisms for its indecency rules and that it apply them in an even- handed fashion. The author concludes that such changes will preserve the First Amendment rights of radio broadcasters and their listeners.