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Weekly Updates(2) UPN and WB subsequently merged to form the CW network. PAX renamed itself the "i" network.
(3) The seven highest-rated cable networks (exclusive of networks singularly devoted to news, sports, cartoons or classic movies-only) were based on the number of households estimated to be in the average prime-time viewing audience based on season-to-date (9/20/04-8/21/05) Nielsen people meter data.
(4) Live sports programs were excluded in the sample primarily because offensive language is not scripted in these programs and is usually limited to lip-reading the utterances of players and coaches. Also, sports programs have been excluded from both the authors' published research conducted in 1990, 1994, 1997, and 2001 and from offensive language studies conducted by media watchdog organizations.
(5) Language scholars often distinguish foul words by reference to specific bodily functions and general severity or tabooness of the word. For example, sexual words include "prick" and "cunt," while "shit" and "piss" (literally) are excretory words. Words are also rated by degree of offensiveness. Words that are considered mildly offensive include "damn" and "hell," whereas "son of a bitch" and "bastard" are much stronger words (Jay, 1992, 2000). The authors followed the categorizations set forth by Jay (1992) and the ones used in the authors' published research conducted in 1990, 1994, 1997, and 2001.
Barbara K. Kaye (Ph.D., Florida State University) is an Associate Professor in the School of Journalism & Electronic Media at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Her research interests include media effects and consumer uses of new communication technologies.
Barry S. Sapolsky (Ph.D., Indiana University) is the Jim E. Kirk Professor of Communication in the Department of Communication at Florida State University and Director of the Communication Research Center.
This article was submitted and accepted under the editorship of Donald G. Godfrey.
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