FCC Again

moe.ron · #1 02-23-2005, 02:26 AM

New shots fired in the censorship conflict

RUgreek · #2 02-23-2005, 02:53 AM

Oh great censors, please sanitize this.

KSigkid · #3 02-23-2005, 09:15 AM

I don't know....this isn't just swearing for the heck of it. It's not like this is an Andrew Dice Clay routine. Plus, the program is on at 10 pm; a time when most kids are in bed anyway.

This doesn't make sense to me.

DeltAlum · #4 02-23-2005, 10:58 AM

The following is my opinion only.

This decision on the part of PBS is one of two (or both) things.

1) A knee-jerk reaction to the actions of a very conservative Congress and FCC.

2) Intended to make a point to those above that it is possible to go too far in a campaign to sanitize the airwaves.

In many ways, it is unfortunate that public broadcasting is no longer a pseudo-governmental operation -- dependent on Federal dollars. I know that sounds odd but, in years past, when "educational" broadcasting was almost an arm of the government (ie The National Endowment for the Arts), they appeared to have more creative freedom -- and less nervous underwriters to deal with.

hoosier · #5 02-23-2005, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by RUgreek

Oh great censors, please sanitize this.

The most uncensored sculpture I've seen is a randy and naked group in Nashville near Music Row (and a great chicken strips place).

DeltAlum · #6 02-28-2005, 11:23 PM

Rolling Stone checks in:

FCC Censorship - Bush's Obscene Fines
By DAVID SWANSON
ROLLING STONE

When the Federal Communications Commission fined Clear Channel Communications $27,500 last year for each of eighteen incidents of "indecent material" spouted by shock jock Howard Stern, it sure seemed like a lot of money. But in retrospect those fines look like chump change. On February 16th, the Bush administration won House approval for a bill that would raise the maximum FCC fine to $500,000 per violation. Under the new measure, Clear Channel -- and Stern himself -- could each have been fined a total of $9 million.

"Free expression and First Amendment rights are the real target of this legislation," declared Rep. Bernie Sanders (Ind-Vt.) during the debate over the bill. "This is not what America is about."

A review of fines levied by other federal agencies suggests that the government may be taking swear words a bit too seriously. If the bill passes the Senate, Bono saying "fucking brilliant" on the air would carry the exact same penalty as illegally testing pesticides on human subjects. And for the price of Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" during the Super Bowl, you could cause the wrongful death of an elderly patient in a nursing home and still have enough money left to create dangerous mishaps at two nuclear reactors. (Actually, you might be able to afford four "nuke malfunctions": The biggest fine levied by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last year was only $60,000.)

If Bush has his way, Howard Stern may soon have a tough choice to make: Tell a sex joke on the air, or dump toxic waste in New York's drinking water while willfully placing an employee at risk of injury or death? No wonder the foul-mouthed host is moving to satellite radio, which falls outside the authority of the FCC.

Rudey · #7 03-01-2005, 02:09 AM

But that's just it...

how many Democrats stood up against this?

-Rudey

Quote:

Originally posted by DeltAlum
Rolling Stone checks in:

FCC Censorship - Bush's Obscene Fines
By DAVID SWANSON
ROLLING STONE

When the Federal Communications Commission fined Clear Channel Communications $27,500 last year for each of eighteen incidents of "indecent material" spouted by shock jock Howard Stern, it sure seemed like a lot of money. But in retrospect those fines look like chump change. On February 16th, the Bush administration won House approval for a bill that would raise the maximum FCC fine to $500,000 per violation. Under the new measure, Clear Channel -- and Stern himself -- could each have been fined a total of $9 million.

"Free expression and First Amendment rights are the real target of this legislation," declared Rep. Bernie Sanders (Ind-Vt.) during the debate over the bill. "This is not what America is about."

A review of fines levied by other federal agencies suggests that the government may be taking swear words a bit too seriously. If the bill passes the Senate, Bono saying "fucking brilliant" on the air would carry the exact same penalty as illegally testing pesticides on human subjects. And for the price of Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" during the Super Bowl, you could cause the wrongful death of an elderly patient in a nursing home and still have enough money left to create dangerous mishaps at two nuclear reactors. (Actually, you might be able to afford four "nuke malfunctions": The biggest fine levied by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last year was only $60,000.)

If Bush has his way, Howard Stern may soon have a tough choice to make: Tell a sex joke on the air, or dump toxic waste in New York's drinking water while willfully placing an employee at risk of injury or death? No wonder the foul-mouthed host is moving to satellite radio, which falls outside the authority of the FCC.

moe.ron · #8 03-01-2005, 03:47 PM

Scary that 4 nuclear malfunctions cost the same as Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction.