Editing Pacifica Foundation (section)

==Early history==
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Pacifica was founded in 1946 by [[pacifism|pacifists]] E. John Lewis and [[Lewis Hill (radio company founder)|Lewis Hill]]. During [[World War II]], both of them had filed for [[conscientious objector]] status.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Pacifica Foundation |url=https://www.pacifica.org/about_history.php |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=www.pacifica.org}}</ref> After the war, Lewis, Hill and a small group of former conscientious objectors created the Pacifica Foundation in the town of [[Pacifica, California]], in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]]. Their first station, [[KPFA]] in Berkeley, commenced broadcasting in 1949. By 1977, the network had added [[WBAI]] in New York City, [[KPFK]] in Los Angeles, [[WPFW]] in Washington, DC, and [[KPFT]] in Houston.<ref>[https://americanarchive.org/participating-orgs/NCSG43 Pacifica Radio Archives] page at American Archive of Public Broadcasting site</ref>

===FCC v. Pacifica Foundation===
{{main|FCC v. Pacifica Foundation}}
In 1973, one of Pacifica's stations, WBAI, broadcast comedian [[George Carlin]]'s ''[[Filthy Words]]'' routine uncensored. Following a listener complaint, Pacifica received a letter of reprimand from the [[FCC]], censuring them for allegedly violating broadcast regulations which prohibited airing indecent material.<ref>{{cite web |last=Samaha |first=Adam |url=http://www.law.uchicago.edu/files/file/314-as-story.pdf |title=The Story of FCC v. Pacifica Foundation (and Its Second Life) |access-date=October 5, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110419133818/http://www.law.uchicago.edu/files/file/314-as-story.pdf |archive-date=April 19, 2011 }}</ref> The foundation took the matter to the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] in [[FCC v. Pacifica Foundation]] and lost in a 5–4 decision. This became a landmark moment in the history of [[free speech]], and the case continues to define the power of the government over broadcast material it calls indecent.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Station That Dared to Defend Carlin's '7 Words' Looks Back |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/nyregion/25wbai.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |first=Glenn |last=Collins |date=June 25, 2008 |access-date=February 23, 2012}}</ref>