Our guess is that few people remember the late comedian George Carlin’s 1972 skit generally entitled “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” (and even fewer people remember what Carlin’s seven words were!) Nevertheless, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has decided to name its newly launched podcast series “More Than Seven Dirty Words.”
According to a press release issued by the FCC, the new series will “feature interviews with FCC officials and staff and others in the communications space to share untold stories, explain important policy issues, and maybe even do the impossible: make telecom interesting!!! (We’ve added the emphasis and exclamation marks here!)
The FCC has posted on its website a brief (4 minute) introduction to the podcast series, as well as the first episode about the FCC’s response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico last September. You can access the podcasts at https://www.fcc.gov/news-events/podcast.
As for Carlin and his “seven words,” it is widely reported that his routine ultimately led to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in FCC v. Pacifica Foundation in 1976 that detailed the authority of the FCC in dealing with broadcast content deemed indecent. Watch Carlin’s original “seven words you never say on television” skit (viewer discretion is advised!)
