House May Raise Fines for Broadcast Indecency Standard Violators
by Jenni Parker and Allie Martin
June 7, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A vote scheduled for today in the U.S. House of Representatives could mean a tenfold increase in the amount the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can levy in fines against broadcasters airing indecent material on the public airways. The Senate version of the legislation sponsored by Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas has already been approved, and if the House gives its nod, President Bush is expected to sign the measure, increasing maximum fines for indecency violations from $32,500 to $325,000.The House vote on the bill comes at the end of a two-year drive by Congress to crack down on broadcast indecency, an effort that began after an incident of indecent exposure during the live CBS broadcast of the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show generated a firestorm of outrage and protest. According to FCC regulations and federal law, radio and television stations broadcasting over the public airwaves may not air indecent material between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when children are likely to be watching, and may not air obscene material at any time.
Although the flash of partial nudity during the 2004 halftime performance by Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake was supposedly due to a "wardrobe malfunction," critics felt the network could have prevented the incident from airing. Since that broadcast, pro-family groups have pushed with renewed fervor, urging federal officials to crack down on broadcast indecency and advocating higher fines and stiffer penalties for violations. The FCC has responded with increasing vigor to the public's complaints about lewd material, with total fines shooting up from $440,000 in 2003 to nearly $8 million in 2004.
Meanwhile, industry officials and others opposed to stronger penalties for broadcast indecency have argued that government regulation is unnecessary and infringes on freedom of expression and that broadcasters should be allowed to police themselves when it comes to program content.
However, one Christian pro-family spokesman says these industry professionals are out of touch with mainstream America and are trying to abolish existing FCC standards.
Christians Petition Federal Regulators to Enforce Decency Laws
Dr. Gary Cass, executive director of the Center for Reclaiming America for Christ, is hoping an effort spearheaded by the Center will help encourage the FCC to listen not to these broadcast executives but to an American public that has long been calling on federal regulators to rid the public airwaves of indecency.
"This is taxpayer property," Cass insists. "The airwaves are to be used for the public good, and I don't know anybody who can make an argument that a more coarse culture is in the interests of our children or of the future."
The means the Center is using to drive this point home is a petition containing tens of thousands of signatures, scheduled to be delivered today to Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin. The petition asks the FCC to enforce U.S. anti-obscenity laws, and Cass is confident the federal agency's officials are going to listen.
"Maybe some people would like to disparage this, but politicians can count," the Center's spokesman says. "And they know if people will actually take the time to sign a petition, to make a phone call or send an e-mail, those are the people who are going to pay attention when it comes time to vote -- so don't let anybody ever tell you that these petitions don't matter."
It is time for a more consistent and forceful application of existing indecency standards, Cass asserts. That is why he is asking concerned Christians to call Senator Ted Stevens, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, and Congressman Joe Barton, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, to make sure they know where their constituents stand on this issue.
Pro-family citizens contacting these lawmakers should urge them to hold hearings examining the networks' legal campaign to legitimize profanity during TV's family hours, Cass suggests. He believes if enough pro-family citizens speak out against broadcast indecency, the FCC will continue to get tougher on broadcasters who air obscene or indecent material.
