On the Issues
Protecting Children from Indecency and Violence on the Airwaves
I believe it is the responsibility of Congress to ensure that our nation’s broadcasters do not violate public standards of decency by airing content that may be offensive or harmful to certain audiences, especially children.
As you may know, on June 4, 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit handed down a decision on the controversial case between Fox Television Stations, Inc. and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). At issue was the FCC’s decision to fine Fox for “fleeting expletives” aired during the network’s broadcast of the 2002 and 2003 Billboard Music Awards. Previously, the FCC had considered the broadcast of “fleeting expletives” – foul language that is spontaneous or extraneous to a program’s general content – to be less of an offense than the broadcast of programming that is obscene or indecent in nature. Siding with Fox, the court ruled that the FCC had expanded the definition of “fleeting expletives” without ample explanation and nullified the new definition until the agency provides a more thorough justification for the change. It is currently unclear whether the FCC will appeal the decision.
You may be interested to know that Congress enacted legislation last year to authorize the FCC to impose tougher sanctions for indecency violations, which I was pleased to support. Increasing the fines for broadcasters is a step in the right direction, but I believe we must do more to address the root cause of the problem.
Whether it is a “wardrobe malfunction” or a “reality show” demeaning family values, at the heart of the matter is the fact that as the American media have become concentrated into fewer and fewer hands. Programming and editorial decisions have been moved out of our communities and into corporate boardrooms, where the final product is often at odds with local values and interests. For this reason, I have fought relentlessly in Congress to promote localism and diversity in broadcasting by opposing further consolidation of the media industry.
*What parents can do about indecency on the airwaves*
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