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Wednesday, June 7, 2006
‘Indecency’ to cost more on TV
Today the U.S. Congress will continue its push to raise so-called “indecency fines” from a piddling $32,500 to a potentially painful $325,000.
Will this make television more wholesome for our nation’s youth? I don’t think so. Most kids I know only watch cable, and this only affects broadcasters.
The House will vote on the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act and hope that TV stations will think twice about airing Janet Jackson’s bare breast — not that anyone could have prevented the 2004 Super Bowl incident at the time.
After “boob-gate,” most stations began implementing 3- to 7-second delays on live broadcasts such as awards shows and sports programs to avoid financial slaps by the Federal Communications Commission.
Last season, the FCC handed down its biggest fine yet — $3.3 million against more than 100 CBS stations that aired an episode of “Without a Trace” that included a teen orgy scene. That fine is now under review.
According to FCC rules, broadcast channels are banned from airing obscene material at any time, and cannot air indecent material, including language and behavior, between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. when children are more likely to be watching.
The rules do not apply to cable or satellite channels, which is a source of contention with broadcasters — especially since just about everything but the F-word is now allowed on basic cable channels such as FX.
Nor do the rules define indecency, except in the vaguest of terms … “that which contains sexual or excretory material.”
Personally, I find the level of humor on many sitcoms (i.e., Fox’s “The War at Home” leaps to mind) far more indecent than Janet Jackson’s breast. And that awful commercial for a pill to slay toenail fungus? That’s closer to obscene than any sex scene in my book.
The U.S. Senate already has passed the new act. The House undoubtedly will follow suit today, and President Bush will sign it into law — amid much fanfare about “family values.” It’s not going to make a whit of difference.
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