News > Politics > FCC Does The Bidding Of One Group Of Assholes

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MONDAY JUNE 25 2007 9:00 AM

FCC Does The Bidding Of One Group Of Assholes

Tags: FCC, Parents Television Council, CBS

In 1997 I was on a college tour and had to open a bank account in Michigan for business reasons. The bank account manager was a Christian, who had absolutely no problem mixing religion and business. I recall her telling me that the show Friends was horrible and disgusting. Although she had never seen the show, she had filed a complaint with the FCC. She pretty much freaked me out by the lemming-like life she was living.

Today those Christians are still at it, but now they are causing broadcasting companies to lose money. Big companies dont like to lose money and they are fighting back in court, as well as shining a light on their opponents bullshit tactics.

Two weeks ago, broadcast companies won a decision in the US Court of Appeals that overturned the FCCs policy to penalize fleeting expletives. Network executives believe the ruling will lead to the reversal of the fines the FCC handed out for the Janet Jackson titty-showing incident in 2004.

The 2nd Circuit Court's decision dealt with four situations: Two instances of celebrities using the word "fuck" during Billboard Music Awards on Fox; use of the word "bullshitter" during a live interview on CBS' The Early Show, and a character on ABC's NYPD Blue using several expletives, including "bullshit."

The court said the FCC provided no explanation for why it decided, after 30 years of ruling otherwise, that suddenly fleeting expletives were harmful. The court then argued it must do so to prove why government intervention is necessary.

The court also said children today are far more likely to hear profanity from sources other than television, seemingly questioning why TV was being singled out for reprimand.

Why? Well, because of our crazy right-wing friends. It turns out nearly all complaints sent to the FCC come from one source: the Parents Television Council. In one specific case, the FCC hit CBS with a record indecency fine of $3.3 million.

The FCC in proposing the fines of $32,500 upon each of 103 CBS stations said they had broadcast material graphically depicting teenage boys and girls participating in a sexual orgy.

Jesus. A sexual orgy. CBS is getting hardcore. When did all this boy-girl fucking and sucking go down? During the crazy hardcore sex show Without A Trace. Personally, I have never gotten through one episode of Without A Trace without rubbing one out. The show is crazy hot. I can say this because I have never actually seen the show and neither have any of the people who complained to the FCC about it.

Of the 4,211 emails received by the FCC, only two people claimed they had watched the show. And both of them referred to the scene described on the PTC website. The show in question aired on December 31st, 2004. Complaints did not start coming in to the FCC until January 12th, coincidentally the same day PTC sent an alert to its members.

PTC is a complaint machine. On their website they have a list of the worst 10 shows on television, as well as the worst show of the week. It would take all of one minute for some lemming to file a complaint about a show they have never seen. In this day and age, it is to be expected. The problem lies with the FCC for accepting them as real and fining companies because of false complaints.

In December 2004, Mediaweek revealed that the PTC generated 99.9% of all indecency complaints to the FCC.

According to an early December 2004 report in Mediaweek, the PTC has become a master at generating indecency complaints with the FCC. The story revealed that the organization was responsible for 99.8 percent of all the indecency complaints filed in 2003. In addition, 99.9 percent of complaints filed with the FCC (other than complaints about Jackson's breast) were brought by the PTC and its members.

And these fuckers have gotten their way with our idiotic Congress. Last week Congress gave final approval to raise indecency fines from the current $32,500 to $325,000 for each infraction. The fines apply to each individual network station, not the network as a whole. One fine could seriously harm a network. Oh, and the PTC is lobbying for the same fines to be applied to Cable. If the Christians don't think they are going to get the shit kicked out of them by corporate lawyers, then they are in for a big surprise.

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Comments

Heathen_Dave

Birmingham, AL

July 2005

JUN 25, 2007 09:24 AM

I once watched a grown man skip the "sex" scene in Patriot Games because it was indecent. I then had to explain some of the plot to him because he missed it in that scene.

To think that people like that have an influence on what I can watch makes my brain hurt.

Lobby groups like this kinda gimme chills, because there are a lot of people who will do something just to be a part of a movement without really thinking it through.

Renshai

Minneapolis, MN

February 2006

JUN 25, 2007 09:25 AM

Man, I hate those guys.

I hear the kids in my neighborhood swearing up a storm every day and I don't think they heard those words on TV.

OpticNerve

Arlington, MA

November 2003

JUN 25, 2007 09:29 AM

Huh. No wonder the Romans threw these guys to the lions.

scorp17yh

Brookings, OR

November 2004

JUN 25, 2007 09:30 AM

well you do realize FTR it's the idiotic voters in the US that make this all possible don't you

Microdotz

Mount Juliet, TN

December 2006

JUN 25, 2007 09:46 AM