Congress expected to act on TV indecency

AUGUSTA – The Federal Communications Commission issued a record $7.9 million in fines in 2004 for bare breasts and bad words on TV and radio stations. But in 2005 while the complaints continued, fines levied against broadcasters went down significantly.

“I think Congress will act on this in 2006,” said U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine. “There is a lot of concern among the public about what is on television today.”

The Republican serves on the Senate Commerce Committee that has oversight over the Federal Communications Commission. She said several hearings were held late last year on the issue of indecency and obscenity over the airwaves, and further hearings are planned this year.

“You want to be sure that we balance the need to protect our children from inappropriate programming content in a way that does not violate a broadcast station’s First Amendment rights,” she said.

But Brent Bozell, president of the Parents Television Council, told the committee in December the issue is not the First Amendment; it is indecency and filth on both television and radio. He said polling has indicated the public is way ahead of Congress on the issue.

“There is a sense of outrage that the airwaves have become so polluted and that nothing is being done about it,” he told the panel. “If you look at cable, the two most popular forms of programming are sports and cartoons. There doesn’t seem to be any rush to do more sports and cartoons. Instead they’re saying we’ve got to be raunchier.”

Bozell called for tougher fines and penalties against broadcasters. He said too often the penalties being levied are so low they are considered simply a cost of doing business.

“That’s why the House did pass legislation last spring that would significantly raise fines,” said U.S. Rep. Tom Allen of Maine. The Democrat serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee that has jurisdiction over communication matters before that chamber. “Unfortunately, the Senate has not acted on the legislation.”

The legislation would allow the FCC to impose fines of up to $500,000 for each incident of indecent or obscene broadcasts. The current base fine is $7,000 per violation, but the FCC may increase that to $32,500 per violation, based on the circumstances and seriousness of the violation.

The House-passed measure would allow the FCC to impose fines of up to $500,000 for each incident of indecent or obscene broadcasts.

“The fines that can be imposed on the industry are minimal. Congress needs to address the issue and allow the FCC to impose a significant fine,” Snowe said. “We have to make sure the FCC has the tools to implement some reforms that will prevent the types of programs that are inappropriate.”

But during Senate hearings, broadcasters charged that many of the complaints that have flooded the FCC are from organized groups, not individuals outraged at program content.

“We should not mistake mass Internet-generated complaints for an organic outpouring of citizen outrage,” said Bruce Reese, joint board chairman of the National Association of Broadcasters. “Another fact to consider, the FCC is well-equipped to mete out fines as it demonstrated in 2004, issuing $7.7 million in indecency fines compared with just $48,000 in the year 2000.”

But FCC Chairman Kevin Martin told the committee that the complaints are backed up by polling data that show public concerns about programming and by several studies that analyze program content.

“For instance, the use of profanity during the family hour has increased 95 percent from 1998 to 2002,” he said. “Another recent study found that 70 percent of television shows in 2004 and 2005 season had some sexual content and that the number of sexual scenes had doubled since 1998. At the FCC, we used to receive indecency complaints by the hundreds, and now they come in by the hundreds of thousands.”

Allen believes part of the problem is the amount of media consolidation. He said where most TV and radio stations were locally owned a decade ago, most are now owned by huge conglomerates with no ties to the community.

“This media consolidation is a significant problem,” he said. “The FCC has gone further, I think, than Congress or the public would like to see in allowing consolidation.”

Snowe agrees. She said Congress should consider limiting the number of stations a single company owns to encourage more competition and increase accountability to the local communities the stations are licensed to serve.

Further hearings are scheduled in both the Senate and House later this session.