July 11, 2006, 11:03PM Four-letter words, six-figure fines Broadcasters seek protection with equipment, policy changes
By FRANK AHRENS Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/10/AR2006071001245.html WASHINGTON - Last month's tenfold increase in broadcast indecency fines has sent radio and television stations scurrying to protect themselves, as the cost of uttering a dirty word over the air has turned a minor annoyance into a major business expense. The new law is a boon for companies that make time-delay machines for broadcasters, which are designed to catch offensive language before it hits the airwaves, and a potentially powerful reason for performers, directors and producers to take their talent to cable and satellite outlets, where federal decency standards do not apply. Since President Bush signed a law in June upping the maximum Federal Communications Commission indecency fine to $325,000, business has spiked at California-based Prime Image, which makes an electronic box that lets television stations edit out offensive language. Orders for the device have jumped to nearly three dozen from an average of less than one per day, and the company has increased production to keep up. Other repercussions from the escalating crackdown on broadcast indecency: On-air personalities at one radio giant are contractually obligated to pay indecency fines if they say anything that causes their stations to be penalized. Lawyers at another radio company are advising superstar deejays on what material to avoid on air. Public television, still puzzling over a March fine for a Martin Scorsese-produced documentary, is sending periodic legal advice to its member stations. One stand-up comedian took out an indecency-liability policy on himself. Another said he was forced to sign a waiver before he went on the air at a radio station, promising to pay any indecency fine that might result from his appearance. Parental groups pressured Congress to do something after the brief exposure of singer Janet Jackson's breast during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. Members of Congress quickly drafted bills to raise the amount the FCC could fine radio and television stations for broadcasting indecent material. But bills in both houses stalled in 2004 and 2005. This May, Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., picked up one version of the legislation and sped it through the Senate. The House passed it soon after, and on June 15, Bush signed it into law, raising the ceiling on indecency fines from $32,500. Under the law, cable channels such as MTV and HBO and satellite radio companies such as Sirius and XM remain un- policed by the federal government. Advocates of the higher penalties said small fines had not deterred big broadcast companies, such as CBS and Fox, from airing indecent material. In addition to raising the ceiling for a single instance of indecency, the law allows the FCC to fine a broadcaster as much as $3 million a day for multiple violations. "This is like a blessing for us," said Prime Image Chief Executive Peter Jegou. The company's devices, which provide a time delay and a "dump button" to zap offensive language and images, cost $9,000 for standard-definition television and $12,000 for a high-definition version. The same is true at Symetrix, where sales are skyrocketing for its $2,399 device that allows radio stations to delay their broadcasts. Broadcast companies are taking further measures to protect themselves by training their talent and cutting them loose at the first sign of trouble. Radio giants such as Clear Channel Communications have adopted "zero-tolerance" policies for on-air personalities, meaning that they can be fired for offensive language even before an FCC fine is levied. Clear Channel, the industry's largest radio chain with more than 1,200 stations, also has reworked its talent contracts to include "indemnification language," said Andy Levin, executive vice president for government affairs. Translation: If a Clear Channel host says anything that prompts a fine, the host not Clear Channel is responsible for paying. PBS has been attempting to interpret the FCC's indecency guidelines for its member stations for more than a year, said Lee Sloan, a spokeswoman. "But it's a moving target," she said. On March 15, California public television station KCSM was fined $15,000 for airing a profanity-laced documentary on bluesmen, produced by Scorsese. KCSM is appealing the proposed fine, and PBS is taking the unusual step of filing an additional brief with the FCC arguing that documentaries should have special status under indecency guidelines, especially now that fines are higher. In KCSM's filing, Scorsese expressed "deep concern over the adverse impact that the FCC's actions will have ... on the ability and willingness of filmmakers to produce authentic documentaries and other valuable programming for presentation on broadcast television." Even before Congress increased the indecency fines, performers, producers and directors saw signs that they interpreted as the long-feared "chilling effect" on free speech and artistic expression. ================================ 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]
