Quote:
Originally posted by AlphaSigOU
Right now the FCC is in the middle of a 'fishing expedition' stirred up by viewer complaints and media sensationalism... they cannot be seen as a mindless bureaucracy that takes glacial progress to resolve anything, especially not in an election year.
The individual stations will probably not be fined, but bet yer ass CBS, and in turn, Viacom (who owns both MTV and CBS) will be made to cough up $ for the fine.
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And there lies the Catch 22. The FCC has little or no regulatory authority over CBS or MTV.
I'll explain.
CBS and MTV do not really "broadcast" anything. They provide programming for TV stations and cable systems. The FCC has no Censorship power. The FCC is the guardian of the "public's airwaves" only. The networks have no transmitters and because of that don't "broadcast" in the literal sense of the word. That's why we hear about fining individual TV stations over whom the FCC does wield a big stick. In fact, the only way the FCC has traditionally "governed" the networks is through it's power over the few stations which are owned outright by the networks. MTV doesn't even have that concern since it is only on cable -- which also doesn't use "airways."
I agree, though, that it is unlikely (although not impossible) that regular CBS affilliates (as opposed to owned stations) will be fined.
Now, here are several articles taken from "Shoptalk," an internet bulleting board frequented by broadcast professionals. I'm sorry they are so long, but I am particularly interested in the last paragraph of the last one...which points out that 1 out of 5 (20%) of American children ages 2-11 were watching the Superbowl.
Once again, CBS Faces A Firestorm
By RICHARD HUFF
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
CBS is putting the C back in controversy.
Janet Jackson's breast-baring stunt during halftime at Sunday's Super Bowl left the network with yet another black eye.
CBS, which has built a reputation over the years as a family-friendly outlet, recently has been hit by a series of questionable programming incidents.
Here's the sequence:
In November, CBS scheduled, then pulled, "The Reagans" after a furor among conservative groups who claimed that the miniseries unfairly slammed former President Ronald Reagan and his family. CBS president Leslie Moonves ditched the project after agreeing that it did a disservice to the President. Showtime eventually ran the film without hassle.
Also in November, the network pulled a Michael Jackson music special after the singer was arrested on child molestation charges.
The cancellation was understandable. But what turned the situation bad for CBS was that it then rescheduled the entertainment special after Jackson agreed to talk on a "60 Minutes" program in December.
Doing the interview to get the special aired raised concerns that CBS, though perhaps indirectly, was tying Jackson's pay to the interview. And while all network officials deny any connection, it still marred the CBS reputation.
Now, Janet Jackson and her right breast have put the network in a controversy when they should have been glowing from the great ratings the game achieved.
CBS has weathered the previous storms well, and is the most-watched network on the air in total viewers. It is, however, third with the advertiser-coveted ages 18-to-49 segment - the same crowd that watches MTV and may not have been offended by seeing Jackson's pierced breast.
"Are they snakebit?" asked Bill Koenigsberg, president of Horizon Media. "I think it's going to cause them to be a little more diligent in terms of standards and practices, programming decisions, greenlighting projects - and their extensions to the Viacom brands."
One network insider attributed the controversies to playing in the big leagues and having to deal with highly rated programs.
Koenigsberg said he doubted there will be any fallout for CBS from the recent controversies.
"The American public pretty much has a short memory," Koenigsberg said. "You're not going to see a significant ratings decline because of the Janet Jackson stunt."
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Investigation, Furor Over Super Bowl's Halftime Peepshow
Sorry! Jackson apologizes for baring breast on national TV
C.W. Nevius
San Francisco Chronicle
Federal Communications Commission chief Michael Powell was outraged and launched an investigation. National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue called it "offensive, inappropriate and embarrassing." And Super Bowl halftime performer Janet Jackson called it a last-minute stunt that went very wrong.
When singer Justin Timberlake reached over to Jackson, just after singing, "Better have her naked by the end of this song," and ripped off a part of her costume, it exposed more than a breast.
It revealed the growing divide between those who believe networks should be free to decide what airs on television and those who would like government to be tougher in enforcing rules against indecency.
"This was MTV meets Middle America, and it was ugly," says Jim Steyer, chairman and CEO of the Bay Area-based Common Sense Media, which favors more rigorous regulation of the airwaves.
Others were wondering what the fuss is about. "There's no story here," said University of Southern California journalism professor Joe Saltzman. "People have seen a breast before."
By Monday morning, the backpedaling had commenced in earnest.
Jackson insisted that the decision to rip off part of her costume "was made after final rehearsals." She said MTV, which produced the halftime show for CBS, was "completely unaware of it." "It was not my intention that it go as far as it did," Jackson added. "I apologize to anyone offended -- including the audience, MTV, CBS and the NFL."
Her spokesman said a red lace garment was supposed to remain when Timberlake tore off the costume's outer covering.
But several news organizations suggested that at least some of those putting on the show knew what was going to happen.
The Drudge Report, an Internet site that mixes news and gossip, claimed that "top CBS executives approved ... a skit where Janet Jackson would expose her breast.''
And several news organizations reported finding an entry on the MTV Web site -- later removed -- that crowed, "Janet Jackson got nasty at the MTV produced Super Bowl Halftime show."
CBS insisted it knew nothing about the stunt, as did MTV.
"CBS deeply regrets the incident," CBS spokeswoman Leslie Anne Wade said, adding that representatives from the network attended rehearsals of the show, and they never thought "any such thing would happen."
The always-conservative NFL harrumphed its displeasure.
"We were extremely disappointed by the MTV-produced halftime show," said Tagliabue in a prepared statement. And FCC Chairman Powell, already under fire for taking tepid action when U2 singer Bono used the f-word during last year's Golden Globes awards, thundered into action.
Powell could fine each CBS affiliate that aired the Super Bowl $27,500. But Common Sense's Steyer scoffed that the amount is nothing more than a "chauffer tip" for Sumner Redstone, president of Viacom, which owns both CBS and MTV. To all of those expressing indignation, Saltzman at USC says, "Haven't they ever seen Janet Jackson perform before? She's the worst singer and dancer in the world, but she does suggestive dancing."
Even Steyer, who is on the other end of the argument, thinks it's a little late for Powell to be shocked.
"Where has he been?" Steyer asks. "So Michael Powell has suddenly gotten religion? He has to do something. He's at least using the bully pulpit." That may be the extent of it if the Golden Globes experience is any indication.
Bono, thrilled to win an award, said "This is really, really f -- brilliant." Some viewers were offended, but the FCC Enforcement Bureau originally ruled that it was not a violation because the word was used "as an adjective, not a verb." Powell later amended the ruling to say that a future use of the word would be penalized.
The larger issue, Steyer and others believe, is the "slippery slope" of declining standards in the media.
Among them is Robert Peters, president of Morality in Media, which includes among its donors New York Giants co-owner Wellington Mara and members of the Rooney and McCaskey families, owners respectively of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears. Peters said Mara already has contacted him to voice displeasure with the halftime show.
"The MTV-ization of the NFL is so far out of character for the (league)," Peters says. "We are moving to a gladiator spectacle, which people are only watching for blood and sex." Steyer wanted to know what the NFL had in mind when it turned this show over to MTV.
"I thought the whole thing was pathetic," Steyer said. "You've got (rapper) Nelly with his usual crotch grabbing. He's singing, "It's getting hot in here, take off all your clothes.' What a nice message for my 6-year-old daughter. I can tell you we got hundreds of e-mails and calls. I got calls at home, from friends, saying what are you going to do?"
For starters, Steyer said, Common Sense Media has posted the e-mail addresses and phone numbers for Tom Freston, chairman and CEO of MTV, Judy McGrath, president of MTV, and Les Moonves, chairman and CEO of CBS, on its web site (
www.commonsensemedia.org).
However, there is the possibility that the public outcry is exactly what the performers were hoping for. Jackson has hardly been setting the entertainment world aflame lately. This is more attention than she's gotten in years.
This sort of stunner has worked nicely for MTV in the past. At the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, Madonna kissed pop divas Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. The reaction was widespread outrage -- and at least of week of publicity for the singers and MTV.
"I don't believe that this was accidental for a second," says Steyer. "What I want to know is where were the advertisers? Aren't they saying, "We spent $2.3 million for 30 seconds, and we get lumped in with Janet Jackson and Nelly?"
But ratings suggest it was a great Super Bowl for advertisers. It was the most-watched game in the past six years, with an average viewership of 89.6 million.
That is one of the biggest up-ticks since 1993, when a performer named Michael Jackson preformed at halftime and repeatedly grabbed his crotch on national television. It created national outrage -- and record television ratings.
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Duo Caught In Booby Trap: Grammys on CBS
By DON KAPLAN
NEW YORK POST
CBS is moving to bounce Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake from next Sunday's Grammy Awards amid the national uproar following their X-rated, prime-time Super Bowl stunt.
Sources told The New York Post the network will demand the two stars be tossed from 46th Annual Grammy Awards if CBS's probe shows the duo schemed in advance to expose Jackson's pierced breast during the halftime spectacle.
Jackson admitted as much in a statement Monday night, saying, "The decision to have a costume reveal at the end of my halftime performance was made after final rehearsals."
She said MTV, which produced the show, did not know about the boob surprise - and she apologized for the stunt, saying "it was not my intention that it go as far as it did."
The Grammys will be held in Los Angeles and will be telecast by CBS, which also showed the Super Bowl. Jackson is scheduled to be a presenter and Timberlake is slated to perform.
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CBS Gave 90 Million An Eyeful - So Did 1 in 5 Kids
By Lisa de Moraes
Washington Post
An average of nearly 90 million viewers makes Super Bowl XXXVIII the most watched program on any network since the Super Bowl of January '98, CBS boasted Monday.
In its bragging points, CBS also put out lots of demographic information, including the game's performance among men ages 18 to 34, 18 to 49, and 25 to 54.
But here's the demographic you all want to know about. CBS forgot to include it but it was graciously provided to us by other number-crunchers: Based on preliminary stats, it appears that as many as one in five American kids between the ages of 2 and 11 years caught that halftime show, which included Janet Jackson's memorable performance, "My Right Breast."
.....and I am one of them!
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