‘F’N’ TV station

When it comes to the never-ending battle of content versus decency in the media, the Indiana Daily Student takes more than its fair share of campus outrage. \nFrom student groups upset about how they’re being represented to angry local politicians with a chip on their shoulders, on any given day there is at least one angry person that attempts to set fire to Ernie Pyle Hall. The management has, on occasion, even been known to sleep in the newsroom for fear that they won’t make it to their cars, beaten brutally and left for dead. Fortunately the staff is protected from the ire of the outside world by an impregnable shield known as the First Amendment.\nJokes aside, the notion that all speech is sacred regardless of content is a truism that needs to be clearly reaffirmed in light of the controversy surrounding IU Student Television. The only independent student-run television broadcast in the nation produces the variety show “IU Live!,” the fake-news show “F’N Democracy” and an animated series so twisted that it defies description, “Destructo Box.” \nThe shows have recently come under fire from viewers who find the material crude and offensive. In response, IUSTV’s Programming Director Kyle McVey announced that the station is drafting a decency statement that “will bring a better balance between a creative content and keeping more viewers happy next year.”\nLike similar ones drafted by most (if not all) major media outlets, we anticipate that the decency statement being developed for IUSTV will set certain standards in terms of language, violence and subject matter. The decency statement is a voluntary policy of professionalism, unlike federally imposed laws regarding nudity and profanity. This is an important distinction to understand before finalizing any rules that may inadvertently restrict future IUSTV programming.\nIn specific, one episode of “IU Live!,” produced by senior Alana Salata, has been singled out as particularly disrespectful. The mock interview satirized the rivalry between the Kelly School of Business and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs by “hosting” caricatured students from each school. The business student’s elitism and soulless corporate idolatry were highlighted by an expensive suit and Adderall dependency; whereas the SPEA student’s marijuana-induced delirium only served to devalue an impressive range of abilities from drug hustling to public speaking: “SPEA on Wall Street nucka!” Needless to say, the sketch is hilarious (and on YouTube).\nThough most of the skit’s reviews are positive, there are students who have complained about how their schools – and by extension themselves – are portrayed. Of course it hurts being on the butt end of a bad joke, but these students are completely misunderstanding satire. The artist has to draw on commonly acknowledged cues for each character: the BlackBerry and the joint provided such a point of reference.\nAlso, we applaud IUSTV for understanding the medium of television. It has modeled its programs after some of the most popular ones on network television. The station’s ratings should only rise because of these productions.\nStill, literary, dramatic and business techniques are not the issue here. Though the unbridgeable rights to free speech and press guarantee a citizen’s or institution’s right to express even the most ignorant and bigoted opinions, it also fosters artistic creativity and journalistic objectivity.