There is value in maintaining a safe harbor of relatively “clean” programming on the country’s broadcast stations

Broadcasters have long been bound by government decency standards in exchange for the use of public airwaves. But for years, the Federal Communications Commission refrained from punishing the airing of the errant swear word, reserving its ire — and regulatory muscle — for instances where broadcasters flagrantly disregarded the standards and aired profanity or nudity between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when children were most likely to be watching.

Then came the 2003 Golden Globe Awards, during which U2 lead singer Bono let fly the F-word while accepting an award during the live NBC broadcast. The Bush-era FCC ruled in 2004 that this “fleeting expletive” deserved condemnation. Later that year, the agency blessed ABC’s broadcast of Steven Spielberg’s World War II epic, “Saving Private Ryan,” which abounds with curse words.

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in a case in which broadcasters and their allies rightly challenged the FCC’s indisputably confusing and arbitrary policies. (The Washington Post Co. owns broadcast stations that could be affected by any decision in this case.)

Viewers these days flip easily between uncensored and often provocative content on premium subscription channels and network programming bound by the government standards. The proliferation of these cable and satellite channels has irrevocably altered the TV landscape and, critics say, erased the legal and moral rationale for holding broadcast channels to a different standard.

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