The FCC has launched a web site that explains their obscenity, indecency and profanity rules – including enforcement actions and complaint procedures. The commission has made several attempts over the last few months to keep the “indecency rules regs” dialogue moving forward.
After Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction, the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004 and Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005 were kicked around. The Acts (ideas) have lost steam since February 04. H.R 310 is currently on the Senate Legislative Calendar. Make a prediction - will the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2006 pass? Will it take another “mammary gate” to push the public / house / senate over the edge?
http://www.fcc.gov/eb/oip
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
7 comments:
In this day and age reality is the basis of network television. Every channel seems to display its own version of survivor. When we hit an all-time low like Martha Stewart's internship show, we know that reality is taking over. I think that the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2006 will flop. People no longer want to see shows that blur out body parts or leave out grousome details. They are clinging to every downfall in the human existance. Unfortunately one of these downfalls happens to be the Jackson family and their odd fashion sense. I think that the "reality" of tv will increase as descency decreases tremendously. If the masscom business wants to succeed they are going to give the masses (mostly the teens and twenty-somethings that will lead the masscom future) what they want...even if it is disturbing.
However, the current power in Washington is concentrated in a somewhat conservative perspective, so it is possible that the moral concerns elected officials have about media may be reflected in new regulations.
The problem, of course, with government limits on expression is that one can wonder where it will end? Who next will determine that some entertainment expressions are not appropriate? Yet, the public does own the airwaves, and the public has the right to limit content, so says the FCC.
No prediction about what will happen, but just an observation. In 2004 the FCC recommended a record $7.7 million in fines for indecency violations. In 2005, zip, nada, $0.00. Do you really think the airwaves have been cleaned up that much in the past year?
Wow, did FCC chairman, Michael Powell suddenly lose interest? Were these fines after he stepped down as FCC chair, because Kevin Martin sounds even more concerned about cleaning up content than Powell was.
What is the reason there were no
fines?
This is a very difficult outcome to predict. Right now, the current governement is controlled by the Republican Party, which leads to some very conservative viewpoints. Simply based on that fact, I think that this act would have a very good chance of passing. On the otherhand, the majority of TV viewers seem to want a "no holds barred" kind of programming. If we look at shows that have some of the highest ratings, they are farily explicit, compared to TV in the past. Reality TV is dominating the ariwaves right now; clearly its content appeals to a vast majority of viewers. Therefore, networks will air shows that have high audience numbers, because those are the stations/shows advertisers want to advertise with. The more money the networks can earn through advertisers, the more profit they will gain in the end. Based on that arguement, an act like this should fail. If the people decide what they want to watch, the governement will have a hard time passing acts that will inhibit what the majority of viewers wish to see on TV.
At this point in time I think this has a good chance of passing, especially since the government is being run by the Republican party. Although indecency is a sensitive subject, I feel that since the viewers want to see pretty much everything on television, without restrictions, the money-making aspect is the most important thing to look at right now. Sex sells, even if it is a mistake.After the Janet "mishap" I guarantee the superbowl, as well as Janet Jackson and the tv network,got more recognition and publicity than ever before. Incidents like this will play a huge part in the decision to pass, or not to pass.
It is always interesting to see comments about decency acts. Does it matter whether it has been passed or not or whether it will pass? Not really. The media already run a tight ship with all the decency laws they have set now. Especially since the FCC likes to breathe down everyone's necks and prevent television from having hardly any nudity and hardly any curse words on the television and radio.
Posted By
Jessica Brown
Post a Comment