Beware the open microphone

One of the first lessons learned by those entering the broadcasting profession is that it is always a mistake to utter profanities or expletives anywhere near a microphone ... because those words will somehow end up going out over the air and will be heard.

Today's column is inspired by Jesse Jackson's remarks which were made on Sunday while Jackson was waiting to be interviewed on the Fox News Channel. He turned to another guest and whispered comments about presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. Jackson suggested Obama, with his faith-based initiative proposals, was "talking down to black people." Jackson then went on to say, "I wanna cut his (slang for male genitalia) off."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9cyGxn-TAg

In the wake of this gaffe Jackson has been making the rounds ... apologizing to anyone who will stick a microphone in front of his face. That is, of course, the right thing to do. But Jackson - being media savvy - should have known better than to say what he said in the first place.

While it's true that Jackson is not what one would call a professional broadcaster ... he has appeared in front of a lot of microphones in his time. Pundits have joked, in fact, that Jackson has never seen a microphone he didn't want to speak into. Bottom line ... he should have known better.

But what happened to Jackson has happened to many in the radio and TV business ... as well as to those being interviewed or waiting to be interviewed. We are not immune to this at the Missourinet and the other networks under the Learfield Communications umbrella. There have been times when language most people would not want to hear ended up going out on the air ... for a variety of reasons. If it's a live broadcast ... it's usually because somebody did not know the mic was "hot" ... If it's something recorded and sent out by the computer it's because a "dirty word" was spoken and was inadvertently uploaded.

There's little doubt that this Jesse Jackson error in judgment will NOT be the last such mistake by people in the public eye. Nowadays, with so many folks recording people and their conversations in public places, we all have to cautious about what we say ... in those public places ... or our comments might end up on YouTube. Let's be frank ... quite a few of us have been known to use foul language from time to time (I confess I am one of them) ... and we have been known to say things that would fall into the "politically incorrect" category ... but we must adhere to certain rules - written and unwritten - when we think we might be overheard by others.

That whole idea of being "watched" in public is relatively new and will take some getting used to ... but saying things that should not be said in front of a microphone ... everyone from broadcasters to politicians to entertainers to activists - really should know better.

- Steve Walsh