On this day, October 30, in 1973

The Pacifica radio station WBAI aired a monologue called "Filthy Words" done by the comedian George Carlin. In his routine, Carlin listed and made fun of the "seven dirty words," words which can not now be uttered over public airwaves. Apparently a complaint was filed with the Federal Communications Commission, or the FCC. Although this was the only complaint filed, it eventually landed the Pacifica Foundation in a Supreme Court case against the FCC. The final ruling was in favor of the FCC and it established many restrictions on the content of publicly broadcast material. Although these 'indecency' rules apply to all American media outlets, the penalties and fines are much more damaging to community radio stations such as the Pacifica stations who aren't funded by corporate advertising. How unfortunate.