Opinion: Why the @#$% Is There So Much Profanity on Network TV?

(Nov. 16) -- When a federal court ruled in July that the government didn't have the authority to enforce decency laws on broadcast TV, the networks told viewers not to worry.

Sure, networks could "air uncut R-rated movies after 10 p.m. -- or have Letterman and Leno dropping f-bombs," a spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters, put it, "but you never see or hear that material from broadcasters because of the relationships and expectations we've built with our audiences over decades."

Apparently, that relationship isn't what it was once cracked up to be.

In the few months since the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals stripped the Federal Communications Commission of its authority to enforce broadcast decency laws, CBS has worked the s-word into the title of its new sitcom, "$#*! My Dad Says" and NBC scripted and aired an unbleeped s-word during an episode of "30 Rock."

Those aren't just isolated incidents. In the first two weeks of the new fall 2010 season, use of profanity on prime-time broadcast television shows -- programs airing on CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox and the CW -- has climbed a whopping 70 percent compared with the first two weeks of the 2005 fall TV season, according to a new study by the Parents Television Council.

The increase is largely because of the huge climb in the use of the f-word. Looking at a two-week block of the new fall TV season, PTC found bleeped or muted use of the f-word aired 276 times. Across all networks, use of the bleeped f-word in the "family hour" -- the 8 p.m. block -- rose from 10 instances in 2005 to 111 instances in 2010 -- an increase of 1,010 percent.

Sadly, the greatest increase of the harshest profanities occurred during the family hour and the 9 p.m. slot. In addition to the meteoric rise of the f-word, use of the s-word also increased from 11 instances in 2005 to 95 in 2010; 42 of them occurred during the family hour. The worst offender by network is Fox, where viewers were treated to a 269 percent increase in profanity during the family hour, followed by ABC (74 percent) and NBC (33.7 percent).

Do the networks really think that parents delight in gathering on the couch after dinner with their children for a bombardment of profanity? As it stands, parents are left with little choice but to tune out.

The airwaves are owned by American families and they deserve to be assured that the programming that comes into their homes is not littered with the most profane words in the English language.

There is a solution. While the networks continue to try to nullify the FCC's authority, advertisers must take on a greater responsibility for the content of the shows they support. When advertisers make it known that they don't support expletive-laden programming, the networks will be forced to clean up the language, move it out of their prime-time lineup or pull the program altogether.

The networks have stated time and again that they are able to regulate themselves, but they have shown through their choices that what they're really willing and able to do is subject children to shows with characters who can barely make it through a sentence without dropping the f-bomb.

The biggest offender, "Hell's Kitchen," airs during the family hour. Gordon Ramsay may need profanity to motivate his chefs, but America's children don't need to hear it while watching TV with their families. Without public parameters of decency -- pledged by the networks themselves -- parents can expect the trend to continue unabated.

Melissa Henson is the director of communications and public education for the Parents Television Council, a nonpartisan education organization advocating responsible entertainment. To read PTC's full "Habitat for Profanity" report, visit www.parentstv.org/profanity.