'Indecency' Debate To Play Out In Series Of Appeals Court Battles By Drew Clark National Journal
Tuesday, August 1, 2006 http://njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-FYWE1154459151574.html A potentially epic battle over the future of broadcast "indecency" laws is taking shape through a series of legal maneuvers in appeals courts in New York, Philadelphia and Washington. The CBS network on Friday threw its own legal strategy into the mix, as it filed suit in the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, arguing that the 2004 Super Bowl half-time show featuring the exposure of the breast of singer Janet Jackson was not indecent. All four major networks have been itching to take to the FCC to court, and legal experts familiar with the matter believe that the networks have a strong First Amendment argument in all cases. FCC spokeswoman Tamara Lipper disagreed. In a Friday statement, she said: "The commission will vigorously defend the [fine] issued against CBS. CBS' continued insistence that the half-time show was not indecent demonstrates that it is out of touch with the American people. Millions of parents, as well as Congress, understand what CBS does not: Janet Jackson's 'wardrobe malfunction' was indeed indecent." Another set of indecency cases is before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York and the federal D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. While the Super Bowl raises the question of split-second flesh exposure is indecency, the other cases cover instances of indecency involve profanity, including the "s"-word. In those cases, the preliminary legal jockeying involved the FCC splitting the networks and their affiliates into two camps: those who say they want the FCC to reconsider the matter of swear words, and those who want the matter taken promptly to court. CBS, NBC and the Fox network and affiliates want the matter to go to court. Walt Disney's ABC network and the affiliates of ABC, CBS and NBC favor more reconsideration time for the FCC. The FCC has been seeking to slow the battle in the 2nd Circuit because the agency would rather proceed on the more politically appealing Super Bowl matter, legal experts said. On Friday, CBS paid the $550,000 fine it was issued in March 2006 so that it could bring the matter to court. "CBS has apologized to the American people for the inappropriate and unexpected half-time incident," the network said in a statement, "and immediately implemented safeguards that have governed similar broadcasts ever since. However, we disagree strongly with the FCC's conclusions and will continue to pursue all remedies necessary to affirm our legal rights." Family-oriented groups on Monday blasted the network as "two-faced." "If this incident was not indecent, as CBS is claiming in court, why is CBS apologizing?" said Brent Bozell, president of the Parents Television Council. "If CBS is honest in its apology, why is it filing a lawsuit claiming the incident is not indecent?" CBS chose to file in Philadelphia because the company is chartered in Delaware, which is included in the 3rd Circuit, industry officials said. Philadelphia is also part of that circuit. But the circuit has issued strongly pro-First Amendment decisions and also blasted the FCC over media ownership in 2004. ================================ 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]
