Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC and Affiliates Fight Record Indecency Charges
By Juliana Bolden
Washington, D.C. – In response to recent indecency rulings by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Fox, CBS, NBC and ABC filed two joint appeals against the FCC on Friday.
Both Fox and CBS have filed a joint action with the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York. ABC, along with with Hearst-Argyle station group, filed with the District of Columbia's Court of Appeals. NBC, seeking reversal of an FCC complaint concerning its 2003 Golden Globe Awards telecast, filed to participate with the other entities.
The suits arrive on the heels of about $4 million in FCC fines lobbed at nets and their affiliates last month—the first indecency charges since new commission chair Kevin J. Martin came aboard—including a record $3.6 million charge against more than 100 television stations that aired an episode of CBS series Without a Trace, which depicted a group sex scene, to some degree, involving teen characters.
Nets Cite Problem With "Growing Government Control Over
What Viewers Should and Shouldn't See"
With regard to language, both filings allege that the FCC overstepped its authority in levying such fines against the networks and their affiliates. The networks claim the rulings are contrary to First Amendment rights and are therefore unconstitutional.
"The FCC rulings underscore the inherent problem in growing government control over what viewers should and shouldn't see on television," the networks said in a statement.
Joined by more than 800 affiliate stations, they went on to describe how parents currently have the ability to control and block programming they deem inappropriate for family viewing via V-chip and cable/satellite-blocking technologies.
Agency officials maintain that a line of Supreme Court and federal decisions dating back to comedian George Carlin's "seven dirty words" case gives the agency the authority to regulate the content of programs broadcast over the public airwaves, according to the New York Times.
The nets, meanwhile, cite the increasing range of programming available through cable and satellite services and via the internet, which often enjoy more first amendment protection, and alleged inconsistent application of FCC regulations and fines across the broadcast landscape, as factors favoring the reversal of recent rulings.
The filings seek to overturn decisions concerning remarks made by Nicole Richie during the Billboard Awards, by Cher on the CBS Early Show and certain scripted material from ABC's NYPD Blue. CBS specifically asked for reconsideration of the $550,000 in fines levied against Eye affiliates from the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction during the 2004 Super Bowl, as well as Without a Trace. NBC has been seeking reversal of an agency complaint over a profane utterance by U2 singer Bono during the 2003 Golden Globe Awards program.
FCC Says CBS Argument Runs Counter to "Commision
Precedent" and "Common Sense"
FCC spokeswoman Tamara Lipper responded today to the networks' filings, affirming the agency's position that their rulings are just and saying that CBS' argument concerning Super Bowl halftime show in particular "runs counter to commission precedent and common sense." Lipper said that the FCC will, however, review any requests for reconsideration.
Should the nets' two filings yield different decisions from different courts, rather than an across-the-board victory or loss, the Times said that such a split may spark Supreme Court consideration.
While the broadcasters hope to find a majority within the Courts most sympathetic to their First Amendment rights, industry observers note that the networks may look forward to more hostility from the FCC and complaint-generating advocacy groups—and expect few friends on Capitol Hill to come to their defense where indecency and obscenity challenges are concerned. •