An unidentified, middle-aged man has been intently tuning in to Duke’s radio station, WXDU (88.7 FM), and its webcam for the past two weeks. Dubbed “Our Listener” by WXDU officials, the man sends an e-mail every morning with a list of profanities and the time they are broadcast to the University’s top brass. The increased scrutiny of WXDU has spurred the station’s administrators to take extra caution with on-air content.
WXDU Volunteer Program Director and Program Coordinator in the Center for Biologically Inspired Materials Rick Sawyer sent an e-mail to the station’s disc jockeys April 27 warning them about the situation.
On WXDU’s website, viewers can see into the DJ station via a webcam that refreshes about every minute. If the DJ on air does not wish to be seen, he can turn the webcam away. Sawyer’s e-mail said images of the DJs who allegedly use indecent language or play inappropriate songs have been sent to Duke administrators as well. The man has not threatened to harm any WXDU personnel.
Although the University has not moved to pull support from the station, administrators expect the station to abide by Federal Communications Commission guidelines. Through the anonymous e-mailer’s actions, the administration has only recently become aware of the station’s broadcasting slip-ups.
According to the e-mail sent to the WXDU list warning DJs about the situation, President Richard Brodhead, Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta and Executive Vice President Tallman Trask have received the man’s e-mails. Moneta said he is involved in conversations about the situation with people who have expressed concerns but declined to comment further. Several WXDU DJs also declined to comment about the situation.
Although WXDU policies explicitly forbid airing indecent material or profanity over the airwaves, such material airs from time to time. According to FCC guidelines, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day DJs are forbidden to use indecent language. During the hours outside of that time frame—the “safe harbor” period—restrictions on indecent content do not apply, and such material can be broadcast as long as it is not obscene.
The FCC defines indecency as anything that depicts sexual or excretory activities or organs “as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcasting medium.” Whether or not language is indecent relies heavily on the context of the program. According to the FCC, obscene material is even more offensive when presented to the average person.
Sawyer said the FCC has only recently begun to fine stations for broadcasting profanity. But the government organization can fine stations for every mistake.
Recent violations of FCC guidelines the man sent to administrators include “profanity broadcast without an ‘indecency warning’ and the use of the word ‘fuck’ to refer to sexual activity,” Sawyer said. In keeping with WXDU policy, DJs have been threatened with removal if they broadcast profanity or indecent material.
“We have stepped up enforcement of the policy the last couple of weeks. Duke is very supportive of the radio station, but they want to see that we are responsible for the programming, and this is one of the ways of showing this,” Sawyer said. The University has not threatened to intervene in the station’s programming.
The man has only sent e-mails and not threatened to harm anyone at the station, which is located in the Bivins Building on East Campus. No one at WXDU has filed a complaint with the Duke University Police Department.
“If somebody believes that they are being stalked they need to report it to the police department immediately. The investigators interview the people involved; there might be some covert measures undertaken,” said Leanora Minai, senior public relations specialist for DUPD.
The station’s safety policy suggests standard precautions during the evening and overnight shifts, including point-to-point transportation from SafeRides. Duke security personnel can escort students to their cars. In addition, the station is locked at all times and only open to staff members with DukeCard access.
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