Congress raised the indecency fine tenfold. What is that saying about us?
Whether or not you think she did exposed herself on purpose, Janet Jackson really created a firestorm. One that blew up in March when the FCC levied the largest fine in history - $3.6M - against CBS for an episode of Without a Tracethat featured a teen sex orgy.
Congress recently voted to increase the indecency fine from $32,500 to $325,000. The House cleared the bill on a 379-35 vote, following a unanimous Senate vote in mid-May. According to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, "Today's vote demonstrates that Congress shares the concern and has a clear desire for a more meaningful enforcement of our decency standards."
President Bush concurred, "This legislation will make television and radio more family-friendly by allowing the FCC to impose stiffer fines on broadcasters who air obscene or indecent programming."
This word "indecency" has been a problem from the very beginning of FCC regulation. Under the Supreme Court's 1973 Miller v. California decision, "indecent" is defined using a three-part test:
• Whether "a reasonable person applying contemporary community standards" would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to a prurient (lustful) interest;
• Whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined as obscene by the applicable state law; and
• Whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific values.
So, sex is out, but pretty much anything else is ok. Is pretending that sex doesn't exist really a smart, "family friendly" solution? Guess what - people have sex. That really isn't a big deal. Why is it a broadcaster's responsibility to shield "families" from reality?
If you asked me, some of the stuff on the Discovery Channel (and others of its ilk) is indecent. I don't really want to see a bunch of doctors doing triage on a guy whose arm just fell off. How is teen sex more objectionable than watching someone scream in pain? And can we please stop using "family" as a euphemism for "pious" or "naïve." My family can certainly handle a lot of what the FCC calls "indecent."
In theory, I don't believe in regulation. But, since this column is all about reality, I can admit that regulation needs to exist or there would be chaos. People like structure and limits. But all this over an exposed breast? Janet, was Damita Joe really worth it?
