Obeying the Law. Condense and simplify these rules and discuss them with the students.

Transcription

1 Obeying the Law Purpse: The bjective f this activity is fr students t cnfirm fr themselves that users f wireless technlgy and the radi spectrum are serius abut beying the rules that gvern the use f ur airwaves. The students will als discver that cmplying with these rules is ften very subtle and unbtrusive t the use f the airwaves. Overview: During class discussins, the students have studied the need fr certain rules and regulatins t maintain rder and efficient use f wireless technlgy and the radi spectrum. Withut these rules there wuld be unacceptable interference and chas making the airwaves virtually useless t all. Additinally, cmmercial bradcasters depend n an audience t make mney thrugh advertising. T cnnect with the audience, the listener/view needs t be able t easily find the statin they want t tune in. T find the statin, a specific frequency and mde f transmissin must be assigned t the bradcaster that the end user knws abut and can find n the radi/tv dial. What we are talking abut is rder dictated by gvernment mandated rules, rules nt designed t necessary restrict peratins but designed t facilitate the cnnectin between the bradcaster and their audience. Time: One class perid t review sme f the rules that cmmercial bradcasters need t fllw. One class perid fr students t present in-class presentatin f what they bserved while listening t their favrite radi statin. Skills Required: Listening Observatin Writing Mathematics Materials and Tls: Hme entertainment receiver radi (AM r FM), TV Preparatin: Obtain a listing frm a lcal bradcast statin listing call signs, assigned frequencies, pwer and bradcast restrictins, public service mandates (see belw). Cndense and simplify these rules and discuss them with the students. Backgrund: The Federal Cmmunicatins Cmmissin (FCC) is respnsible fr regulating the activities f bradcast statins within the United States. The FCC publishes and enfrce the rules that bradcasters must fllw. The fllwing FCC web site prvides a summary f the rules applicable t bradcasters. The teacher shuld

2 review these rules and extract thse that he/she believe wuld be meaningful and f interest t her/his students. Fr this activity, three rules stand ut fr students t lk fr and see if their favrite statin is in cmpliance: statin identificatin, bscenity cntent, and airing telephne calls. Statin identificatin rules are straightfrward and shuld be easily interpreted and mnitred fr cmpliance. Obscenity cntent n the ther hand is a much different matter because f ptential infringement n Cnstitutinal rights. Obscenity cntent (defined belw) has the ptential f stimulating significant cgnitive interpretatin and spirited debate in the classrm. Students may find the rules cvering airing f their telephne cnversatins enlightening. The fllwing are extracts frm the FCC web site prviding summary descriptins f statin identificatin and prgramming cntent (bscenity) rules. Statin Identificatin. Statins must make identificatin annuncements when they sign n and ff fr the day. They must als make the annuncements hurly, as clse t the hur as pssible, at a natural prgramming break. TV statins may make these annuncements n- screen r by vice nly. Official statin identificatin includes the statin's call letters fllwed by the cmmunity r cmmunities specified in its license as the statin's lcatin. Between the call letters and its cmmunity, the statin may insert the name f the licensee, the statin's channel number, and/r its frequency. Hwever, we d nt allw any ther insertin. Obscenity and Indecency. Federal law prhibits the bradcasting f bscene prgramming and regulates the bradcasting f "indecent" language. Obscene speech is nt prtected by the First Amendment and cannt be bradcast at any time. T be bscene, material must have all three f the fllwing characteristics: an average persn, applying cntemprary cmmunity standards, must find that the material, as a whle, appeals t the prurient interest; the material must depict r describe, in a patently ffensive way, sexual cnduct specifically defined by applicable law; and the material, taken as a whle, must lack serius literary, artistic, plitical, r scientific value. Indecent speech is prtected by the First Amendment and cannt be utlawed. Hwever, the curts have upheld Cngress's prhibitin f the bradcast f indecent speech during times f the day when there is a reasnable risk that children may be in the audience. Bradcasts that fall within the definitin f indecency and that are aired between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. are subject t indecency enfrcement actin by the FCC. Indecent speech is defined as "language r material that, in cntext, depicts r

3 describes, in terms patently ffensive as measured by cntemprary cmmunity standards fr the bradcast medium, sexual r excretry rgans r activities." Bradcasting Telephne Cnversatins. Befre recrding a telephne cnversatin fr bradcast, r bradcasting a telephne cnversatin live, a statin must infrm any party t the call f its intentin t bradcast the cnversatin. Hwever, this des nt apply t cnversatins whse bradcast can reasnably be presumed (fr example, telephne calls t prgrams where the statin custmarily bradcasts the calls). Lud Cmmercials. In surveys and technical studies f bradcast advertising, we have fund that ludness is a judgment that varies with each listener and is influenced by many factrs (such as an annuncement's cntent and style). We have als fund n evidence that statins deliberately raise audi and mdulatin levels t emphasize cmmercial messages. Bradcast licensees have primary respnsibility fr the adptin f equipment and prcedures t avid bjectinably lud cmmercials. Yu shuld address any cmplaint abut such messages t the statin(s) invlved. Yu shuld identify each message by the spnsr r prduct's name and by the date and time f the bradcast. Students may find the infrmatin cntained in this web site interesting: This web site prvides sme insight int hw much radi statins must pay the artists fr the sngs they bradcast. The music really isn t free! What t d and hw t d it: 1. Discuss with the students the rules that bradcast statins must fllw and why. Fcus n thse rules chsen fr the students t mnitr while listening t their favrite radi r TV statin. 2. Assign the students t mnitr their favrite radi r TV statin fr ne week, ne hur each day. 3. Task the students t specifically lk hw statins cmply with the specific rules discussed. The students shuld create and maintain a lg f the times they mnitr the statin, the time f any significant event (i.e., statin identificatin, bradcast f telephne calls), and prvide anecdtal cmments abut what they bserved.

4 4. If pssible and with parental permissin, students shuld attempt t call int their favrite radi statin during a call-in segment and see if the statin is cmpliant with the telephne bradcast rules. 5. The students will then share their bservatins with their fellw students during classrm discussin after cmpleting the activity. 6. If pssible, asked the students t individually, r as a class field trip, visit a lcal bradcast facility fr a tur. During the tur, ask t inspect their file f public service activities. Data Analysis: The success f this activity will be determined by the quality f the student lgs, the thughtfulness f their bservatins, and the cgnitive level f their interpretatin f what they bserved. Sme statistical analysis f the statin identificatin time infrmatin culd prve t be interesting. By cnslidating student bservatins f the time f the identificatin, a distributin f cmpliance can be graphed t get an verall picture f cmpliance amng the bserved statins. Activity questins: 1. Were the statins in cmpliance with the FCC rules? Why r why nt? 2. Hw ften did the statins identify themselves? What wrds did they use? When did they identify (minute during the hur)? 3. Did yu find any f the prgram cntent ffensive r ptentially bscene? Hw did yur parents feel abut the prgram cntent? Did yu and yur parents agree abut the acceptability f the prgram cntent? Whse respnsibility is it t mnitr and dictate what is bradcast? 4. If yu called int a talk shw, what were the questins that the call screener asked yu befre yur call was put n the air? Were yu infrmed that yu were being tape-recrded? If they had nt tld yu they were tape recrding yur call, was there sme srt f nise r clicking sund that wuld lead yu t believe yur telephne call was being recrded? Hw d yu feel abut a requirement t tape recrd yur telephne calls while they are being bradcast? 5. If yu called int a talk shw, was yur telephne call bradcast withut any delay? Why d the bradcasters smetimes tell the callers t turn dwn their radis? If there was a delay, hw lng was it? Why d yu think bradcasters want t delay yu telephne call slightly befre it is put n the air?

5 6. Are there any ther activities that yu bserved that yu think may be required by the FCC rules? Adaptatins fr special needs: There shuld be n need fr accmmdatin fr this activity.