Damned if you do, damned if you don't when dealing with the FCC. A Colorado radio station discovered that fact as it found out that broadcasting an edited version of a song doesn't mean you're in compliance with the government agency's decency regulations.

The FCC fined KKMG FM $7,000 for airing the radio edit of Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady." Because the Colorado Springs station broadcast an edited version of the song, KKMG's parent company, Citadel Communications, claimed that it wasn't violating FCC rules, according to the notice issued by the agency. In addition to the changes made to the song by Eminem's label, Interscope, Citadel made further edits "in an attempt to render the song suitable for broadcast," the notice said.

Nevertheless, the agency ruled that the edited version "contains unmistakable offensive sexual references ... that appear intended to pander and shock." Earlier this year, the FCC issued new guidelines indicating that innuendo and context are factors in determining whether a record violates its decency standards, regardless of the specific words.

"There is nothing about the context of 'The Real Slim Shady' which removes the material from the realm of indecency," the FCC said.

A KKMG listener filed a complaint about the airing of the song in July 2000. Citadel, which said KKMG broadcast the song about 418 times in May, June and July 2000, claimed the listener submitted lyrics from an Internet site, not transcribed from the actual broadcast, according to the FCC notice.

The agency cited the lines "walkin' around grabbin' his you know what" and "but it's cool for Tom Green to hump a dead moose" as objectionable, as well as lines about masturbation and a "bleeped" reference to a female body part.

The FCC defines indecent material as that which "depicts or describes sexual or excretory organs or activities" in a manner that is "patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards," according to the agency's Web site. The agency responds to consumer complaints about radio and television, but does not actively monitor broadcasts.

The FCC's rules restrict the broadcast of "indecent material" between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Hilary Rosen, president of the Recording Industry Association of America, said that the fine sets a dangerous precedent. "It would be a disgrace if the FCC were to impose a violation on a radio station because they didn't like the 'suggestive' nature of a song," she told Variety. "That goes right to the heart of idea-based censorship."

Citadel, which received notice of the fine on June 1, has until the end of the month to respond to the notice. KKMG has stopped playing the track, but has yet to pay the fine and is considering its response.

In January, the FCC fined WZEE-FM in Madison for airing the unedited version of "The Real Slim Shady." The station paid the fine, but claimed that the broadcast was an innocent mistake.

Spokespersons for Citadel and Interscope could not be reached.