FCC chief drops F-bomb after indecency ruling
Cory Bergman June 4th, 2007
Fox appealed an FCC ruling that dinged the network for two “indecent” expletives blurted on live TV at the Billboard Music Awards, one by Nicole Richie and the other by Cher. But today the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled against the FCC, questioning the commission’s new policy on “fleeting expletives.” FCC Chairman Keith Martin didn’t mince words reacting to the ruling:
“I find it hard to believe that the New York court would tell American families that ’shit’ and ‘fuck’ are fine to say on broadcast television during the hours when children are most likely to be in the audience…. The court even says the commission is ‘divorced from reality.’ It is the New York court, not the commission, that is divorced from reality in concluding that the word ‘fuck’ does not invoke a sexual connotation.”
You can’t buy quotes as good as that one.
Adds Swift Loris below: “What would happen if a reporter read that statement, in full, on TV? Probably be funnier if the naughty bits were conspicuously bleeped (Jon Stewart, you listening?). But I’d really love to see how the FCC would react if they weren’t.”
6 Comments Add your own
1. Steve Safran | June 4th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
At a fine of $325,000 per indecent incident, Martin owes himself $975,000.
2. Swift Loris | June 4th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
Seriously, what would happen if a reporter read that statement, in full, on TV?
Probably be funnier if the naughty bits were conspicuously bleeped (Jon Stewart, you listening?). But I’d really love to see how the FCC would react if they weren’t.
3. Katherine Westphal | June 4th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
I believe there was a survey that said that more Americans believe in aliens than want the government to regulate the content on TV.
The FCC is never gong to fix the problems with TV content. The media moguls are too powerful, as evidenced by the ruling.
Parents have to take control. Learn how to use the v-chip. Keep track of the shows kids watch. Don’t put TV’s in kids’ bedrooms where parents can’t control what kids watch. Cut the cable, if necessary (that’ll limit the amount of indecent content kids are exposed to). And if all else fails, get rid of the TV.
4. Anonymous | June 4th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Just for the record, this ruling is specific to expletives on live television.
I wonder if this could be applied to live porn, too, such as some Janet booby.
5. Anonymous | June 4th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
Dude, a bare breast isn’t porn. It’s baby food.
6. jus_me | June 11th, 2007 at 7:55 pm
The FCC says it can’t determine the sexual content of certain words because they are old prudes who only know the literal definitions. When Nicole Ritchie couldn’t get the cow shit (literal) out of her Prada, I’m thinking she was not considering fucking (having sex with) the cows. It’s an expression, shitheads (literal).
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