Dump or Dumping is the act of removing a snippet of audio from a live broadcast by means of broadcast delay technology. How this works is that despite being "live broadcast," listeners of the show are actually hearing what was said approximately 7-10 seconds earlier. This small window allows the show's engineer (in Loveline's case, Anderson Cowan) to remove a portion from the sound (such as a spoken word or phrase) so no one receiving the broadcast will ever hear it. This is done for one of several reasons:
- The use of a profane word, which on Loveline is confined to the words "fuck," "shit," "cunt," "tit(s)," "cock" if referring to a penis (but not a chicken) and "piss" if used in reference to urination, but not if used in reference to anger or drunkenness (UK English). It is also occasionally used for offensive slurs for race or sexual orientation, but this is not done consistently.
- Accidental utterance of personally identifying information, such a caller's last name or someone's phone number.
- Shout outs to caller's friends
- Improper prank calls where the person blurts out a "code phrase" (for correct prank call rules and procedures, see Bogus Calls).
When a "dump" is initiated, it will sound to the listener like a brief silence before the audio resumes. Unlike most radio shows, Anderson is able to cut out the offending audio with a high degree of precision. In the case of cuss words for example, he often will take out only the word and nothing else. In most cases, the caller is immediately muted as well to prevent any further utterances while the broadcast delay "resets," as only one segment can be dumped at a time and the machine takes about 10-20 seconds to build a buffer back up. Callers that cuss again after being dumped once are usually hung up on, especially if they deny it or show no remorse.
Cussing from callers has been an gradually increasing problem as the show has gone on, especially since the 2000s. This is most likely due to the general rise in consumption of YouTube, podcasts, Sirius radio, Netflix, HBO, Hulu, and numerous other similar media that do not have to comply with FCC broadcast regulations. Consumption of this media is highest among Loveline's target demographic (late teens and young adults) and likely leads to them being so acclimatized to uncensored speech that they forget when they call the show.
FCC Regulations Myth[]
It is a common misconception, even among the show's staff, that Loveline has to refrain from and dump any cuss words uttered on-air due to FCC broadcast rules. This is actually not true. See FCC Broadcast Restriction Myth