Gripes of Wrath: Few complaining about indecency

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F-bombIn an era when a handful of motivated media watchdogs can inspire thousands of their followers to complain to the FCC, you may think that a total of 1,023 indecency complaints in a quarter is pretty darn low. But that was Q1 2012 – for the most recent tally, think even lower.


During Q2, the FCC recorded a mere 414 complaints. There were 179 in April, followed by 119 and 116 in May and June, respectively.

Remember that a complaint is not necessarily an indication of indecent programming – what may seem indecent to a member of the audience quite frequently is not actionably indecent.

The bottom line is that with thousands of radio and television stations pumping out content around the clock, the vast majority of Americans find no reason to request FCC intervention.

578 complaints came in that the FCC categorized under the heading of general program criticism, and 903 fell into the catch-all other category.

Additionally the FCC fielded 87 complaints about service and 201 about interference.

In all, the FCC fielded 2,183 complaints during Q2, down from Q1’s 3,903 total.