This is fascinating. It will be interesting to see how Fox's political/news & conservative commentators treat this, since it seemingly deals with a show called "Married in America" which featured whipped-cream covered strippers etc.
What was Fox News editorial position on the Janet Jackson thing ?(Seriously - I don't recall)
Article in part:
Fox Broadcasting Co. is appealing a record-setting $1.18 million fine for airing racy fare on a show called "Married by America," saying the government's indecency rules for broadcast television are unconstitutional because they don't apply to cable and satellite television.
Fox said the show was not indecent, and it argues that over-the-air broadcasters are now treated as "second-class citizens" by a Federal Communications Commission that unfairly holds them but not their rivals to decency standards.
...
First and foremost, the commission's indecency regulations no longer can withstand constitutional scrutiny," Fox's filing to the FCC reads. "Given the tremendous technological changes that have transformed the modern media environment, the commission simply cannot justify an intrusive, content-specific regulation of broadcasters."
This could turn out to be interesting if the FCC's standards for decency get struck down in court. Religious right organizations have tremendous political power -- I imagine that such a decision would really stir up the far right. If you think they hate the federal courts now... Any comments/predictions from the lawyers among us?
On the other hand, if the FCC's standards for decency get struck down, I doubt that network TV programming will change very much, at least in the short term. Public opinion has a great power to limit what is shown on TV. The networks aren't going to start showing frontal nudity and graphic sex just because they can. The public will always want a group of TV stations that they can trust not to show material that is wildly inappropriate for their children.
Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power -- Benito Mussolini
If there is a list of useless government agencies the FCC should be on it. I agree with Gebeker that viewership (ratings) and sponsorship (advertising) would suffice in moderating content on public airwaves. It sure would beat our current system of a five appointed commissioners haphazardly imposing there moral values, deciding what is , or is not, indecent.
I'm not sure what Fox's official editorial stance on the FCC is, but I do know that the majority of their commentators were frothing at the mouth during the whole "Janet's Nipple" thing. So it is kind of funny to see them calling foul now that they are the ones under scrutiny by the FCC. That being said, I do agree with Fox's recent statement concerning the FCC and support there right to challenge its decision.
