July 08, 2006 Fox, CBS to fight FCC in court on indecency regs
By Brooks Boliek The Hollywood Reporter http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002801841 WASHINGTON -- Major broadcasters are split over an impending court decision that would allow the FCC to take back from the federal courts the major case challenging the commission's revamped indecency rules. In a series of motions filed Friday in federal court in New York, Fox and its affiliate group and CBS opposed an attempt this week by the FCC to get a key indecency case back from the court. NBC also may have filed a similar motion, but that could not be immediately confirmed. "The commission's motion is a transparent attempt to continue its practice of shielding its new indecency enforcement regime from judicial review despite the persistent chilling effect the new regime is having on broadcasters' First Amendment rights," Fox attorneys wrote. On Wednesday, the commission asked the same federal court for more time to consider affiliates' arguments the agency erred in March when it decided that variations of the words "fuck" and "shit" are likely to be indecent whenever broadcast. A delay would let affiliates contest the decisions before the commission. The FCC contends that this is a necessary step before arguing in court. The agency said ABC, NBC and CBS affiliates backed its request. Under the FCC's motion broadcasters get a chance to argue against fines, but get no opportunity to contest the findings intended to establish guidelines. The FCC in its filing said it would decide requests for reconsideration promptly. Broadcasts at issue include the 2002 Billboard Music Awards on Fox, "The Early Show" on CBS and "NYPD Blue" on ABC. CBS argued that the courts "routinely deny" motions like the FCC's when they are "filed for tactical reasons or to evade review, or where delaying judicial proceedings would serve no purpose," CBS attorneys wrote. The network argued that imposing the new rules would put them at risk if a soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan uttered a bad word during a broadcast. "CBS stations would be potentially liable for tens of millions of dollars in fines and their licenses at risk," argued the network. Fox argues that the commission's offer for a voluntary review "is an empty promise that accomplishes nothing more than continuing the commission's procedural machinations designed to prolong its unconstitutional suppression of broadcasters' protected speech." If the court decides to send the case back to the commission, Fox asked for it to suspend enforcement of the new rules until after the a final decision on the issue is made. FCC chairman Kevin Martin's office declined to comment on the latest action. Under federal court rulings and commission rules, material is indecent if it "in context, depicts or describes sexual or excretory activities or organs in a patently offensive manner as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium." Indecent speech can be aired safely between 10 p.m.-6 a.m. Under a new law approved by Congress and signed by President Bush, broadcasters face fines up to $325,000 per violation, up from an old maximum of $32,500. In the original appeal in April, broadcasters showed a rare sense of unity as ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, the affiliate organizations and the Hearst-Argyle Television group challenged the commission's newly reconstituted definition of indecency. In particular, the broadcasters are challenging the FCC's 2004 decision that tightened the indecency regulations. In that decision, the commission found that virtually any use of certain expletives would be considered profane and indecent, even if it was a slip of the tongue. "In filing these court appeals, we are seeking to overturn the FCC decisions that the broadcast of fleeting, isolated and -- in some cases -- unintentional words rendered these programs indecent," the broadcasters said in April when they filed the case in New York. Since then Martin has been pressuring broadcasters to back off, even going so far as to warn TV station owners of the consequences at the TV Operators Caucus, according to industry sources. "He put the fear of God in them," said one industry executive. ================================ George Antunes, Political Science Dept University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204 Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927 antunes at uh dot edu Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
