'Millions of children are watching'

In its first ruling on broadcast indecency standards in more than 30 years, the Supreme Court has ruled that the Federal Communications Commission may penalize even the occasional use of certain expletives on the airwaves.

The court narrowly upheld a change in U.S. government policy – prompted by Cher's use of the F-word during a 2002 live broadcast – that subjects television network broadcasters to fines if they air even a single "F-word" or "S-word" before 10 p.m.

Parent groups hailed the decision. The Parents Television Council calls it an "important ruling" that reaffirms the FCC's ability to protect children.

"The only thing that was at stake here was whether or not language like this would be OK during those earlier times of the day when we know millions of children are watching," said Dan Isett, director of public policy for the organization.

He spoke with Greg Corombos of Radio America/WND. The audio of the exchange is embedded here:

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Fox Television Stations and other networks had challenged the change in FCC policy which previously held that one-time "fleeting" utterances of expletives did not constitute a violation of rules.

"Our argument has always been that language like this, by its very nature is fleeting, so it was a ruling that didn't make any sense and it's a good thing that the Supreme Court has stepped in."