| Yale Broadcasting Co. v. FCC | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit |
| Full case name | Yale Broadcasting Company v. Federal Communications Commission and United States of America |
| Decided | January 5, 1973 |
| Citation | 478 F.2d 594 (D.C. Cir. 1973) |
| Case history | |
| Subsequent actions | Cert. denied, 414 U.S. 914 (1973) |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | Senior Circuit Judge John A. Danaher; Circuit Judges Spottswood William Robinson III and Malcolm Richard Wilkey |
| Case opinions | |
| Affirmed FCC action reminding broadcast licensees of responsibility to know their programming content | |
Yale Broadcasting Co. v. FCC is a 1973 United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia case that upheld the Federal Communications Commission's right to require broadcast station management to be aware of the meanings of drug-related music lyrics.
Background
edit[See NYT articles on Nicholas Johnson at YBC and encouraging legal challenge]
In the early 1970s, in acknowledgement of popular music that glorified drug use in coded language, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Notice for broadcast station management to make reasonable efforts to be aware of the meanings of drug-related music lyrics. The FCC clarified the Notice with a Memorandum that this music was not prohibited and they would not pursue stations who played drug-related music, but that station management needed to know the content of their music to judge whether to broadcast it.[1]
The Yale Broadcasting Company sued the FCC arguing that the Notice and Memorandum infringed on constitutional, free speech.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b Brown, Les (1992). "Yale Broadcasting Co. vs. FCC". Les Brown's Encyclopedia of Television. Gale Research. p. 632. ISBN 978-0-8103-8871-0.
Further reading
edit- 1970-09-26 https://books.google.com/books?id=nSkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3
- Ungar, Sanford J. (April 9, 1971). "Off the Air Ruling Lands FCC in Court". The Washington Post, Times Herald. p. B5. ProQuest 148113310.
- Ferretti, Fred (March 13, 1971). "Johnson of F.C.C. Scores Notice on Drug Lyrics". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
- "Late News: Broadcaster Hits FCC With Lawsuit". Billboard. Vol. 83, no. 16. April 17, 1971. p. 62. ISSN 0006-2510. ProQuest 1040653022.
- 1971-06-05 https://books.google.com/books?id=1wgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA58 1, 58
- "Programing: FCC has last words on drug lyrics". Broadcasting. Vol. 81, no. 6. August 9, 1971. pp. 33–34. ProQuest 1016864466.
- 1971-08-14 https://books.google.com/books?id=bEUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3
- 1971-09-04 https://books.google.com/books?id=wggEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3
- Hall, Mildred (March 4, 1972). "Court Reviews Drug Lyrics". Billboard. Vol. 84, no. 10. p. 1, 4. ISSN 0006-2510. ProQuest 1040595195.
- 1972-05-20 https://books.google.com/books?id=6icEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3
- "Music: FCC holds fast: stations must rule on drug lyrics". Broadcasting. Vol. 83, no. 18. October 30, 1972. pp. 39–40. ProQuest 1285747617.
- 1972-11-04 https://books.google.com/books?id=Bw8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA86 3, 86
- Hall, Mildred (April 7, 1973). "Judge Terms FCC's Drug Lyric Edict 'Obfuscating'". Billboard. Vol. 85, no. 14. p. 3, 68. ISSN 0006-2510. ProQuest 1505937576.
- Hall, Mildred (May 26, 1973). "Supreme Court to Rule on Drug Lyrics". Billboard. Vol. 85, no. 21. p. 3, 15. ISSN 0006-2510. ProQuest 1505918041.
- Oelsner, Lesley (1973). "Radio-TV Censorship Plea Denied by Supreme Court: Use of Public Parks Church-State Links". The New York Times. p. 8. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 119620528.
- Sutherland, Sam (November 3, 1973). "Campus News: What's Happening". Billboard. Vol. 85, no. 44. p. 20. ISSN 0006-2510. ProQuest 1505873520.
- "Drug Lyrics Appeal Fails". Billboard. Vol. 85, no. 43. October 27, 1973. p. 1, 6. ISSN 0006-2510. ProQuest 1505874427.
- "Music Records: Labels Bid FCC Ease B'cast Ban On Drug Lyrics". Variety. Vol. 270, no. 11. April 25, 1973. p. 49. ISSN 0042-2738. ProQuest 963291294.
- "Music: Appeals court says FCC advisories on drug lyrics not out of tune". Broadcasting. Vol. 84, no. 3. January 15, 1973. pp. 53–54. ProQuest 1014534265.
- FCC Memorandum: https://archive.org/details/wherelawends00chri/page/264/mode/2up?q=%22yale+broadcasting%22
- https://archive.org/details/firstamendmentun00labu/page/70/mode/2up
- https://archive.org/details/massmedialawregu02edfran/page/458/mode/2up?q=%22yale+broadcasting%22
- https://archive.org/details/essentialprincip0000live/page/274/mode/2up
- FCC policy generally: https://archive.org/details/broadcastindecen0000lips/page/38/mode/2up
- https://books.google.com/books?id=W9chf0WmOcAC&pg=PA273
- https://books.google.com/books?id=PKG5er5AnBkC&pg=PA40 & 41
- https://books.google.com/books?id=zEFYYQToQ0kC&pg=PA47
- https://books.google.com/books?id=OnSLtku4YzwC&pg=PA384
External links
edit- Text of Yale Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, 478 U.S. 594 (1973) is available from: CourtListener Findlaw Google Scholar Justia OpenJurist