http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5270877/
Higher fines for indecent programs approved
Senate approves penalties of up to $3 million per day
The Associated Press
Updated: 4:41 p.m. ET June 22, 2004WASHINGTON
Disgusted by racy language, explicit scenes and skin-baring outfits, the Senate overwhelmingly agreed on Tuesday to fine radio and television broadcasters and personalities as much as $3 million a day for airing indecent entertainment.
Faced with public uproar stoked by Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlakes wardrobe malfunction at this years Super Bowl, the Senate rushed the bill through on a 99-1 vote without floor debate.
GOP Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas said the issue has been debated enough. Lawmakers have continually criticized broadcasters for airing what they say is increasingly coarse programming that can be seen or heard by children.
People are tired of this indecent material on over-the-air public broadcast, particularly during prime time when peoples families are watching, said Brownback, the bills sponsor. Were going to have to take action because the broadcasters wont police themselves.
Under the measure, the maximum fine for both broadcasters and entertainers would increase to up to $275,000 per indecent incident, up from $27,500 for license holders and $11,000 for personalities. The fines would keep increasing for each incident until a maximum fine of $3 million a day is reached.
The House passed a similar bill that would set fines at $500,000. Differences between the two bills must be worked out.
The Senate moved the measure without debate as part of the massive defense bill expected to be approved later this week. The only senator to vote against the bill was Sen. John Breaux, D-La.
A call to Breauxs office for comment was not immediately returned.
Federal law and FCC rules prohibit over-the-air radio and television stations from airing offensive material that refers to sexual and excretory functions between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., hours when children are more likely to be tuned in. No such restrictions exist for cable and satellite TV or satellite radio.
The FCC currently has no power to regulate those channels, which are available through subscription to the 85 percent of the 108.4 million U.S. households with televisions.
Introduced in January, after FCC Chairman Michael Powell demanded higher fines, the bill wound up on a fast track to passage after the Feb. 1 Super Bowl halftime show that ended with Timberlake partially exposing Jacksons breast for an instant to 90 million viewers.
The incident generated more than 500,000 complaints to the FCC.
If the legislation isnt approved as part of the bill to authorize spending for the Defense Department, Brownback said he would try to find another way to get it through the Senate. This is something the public wants, he said.
The Senate also approved a provision that would delay for one year the FCCs media ownership rules that allow, among other things, companies to own both newspapers and broadcasting stations in the same market.
A consumer group cheered that action.
Once again the Senate has demonstrated its objection to weakening rules that keep massive media conglomerates from swallowing up local media outlets and ignoring community values, said Gene Kimmelman, senior public policy director of Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports.
Brownback said he wasnt sure that those provisions would make it into the final legislation that emerges from the Senate-House conference committee.
© 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
:eviltongu I expect to hear all the shock jocks crying foul...
Higher fines for indecent programs approved
Senate approves penalties of up to $3 million per day
The Associated Press
Updated: 4:41 p.m. ET June 22, 2004WASHINGTON
Disgusted by racy language, explicit scenes and skin-baring outfits, the Senate overwhelmingly agreed on Tuesday to fine radio and television broadcasters and personalities as much as $3 million a day for airing indecent entertainment.
Faced with public uproar stoked by Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlakes wardrobe malfunction at this years Super Bowl, the Senate rushed the bill through on a 99-1 vote without floor debate.
GOP Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas said the issue has been debated enough. Lawmakers have continually criticized broadcasters for airing what they say is increasingly coarse programming that can be seen or heard by children.
People are tired of this indecent material on over-the-air public broadcast, particularly during prime time when peoples families are watching, said Brownback, the bills sponsor. Were going to have to take action because the broadcasters wont police themselves.
Under the measure, the maximum fine for both broadcasters and entertainers would increase to up to $275,000 per indecent incident, up from $27,500 for license holders and $11,000 for personalities. The fines would keep increasing for each incident until a maximum fine of $3 million a day is reached.
The House passed a similar bill that would set fines at $500,000. Differences between the two bills must be worked out.
The Senate moved the measure without debate as part of the massive defense bill expected to be approved later this week. The only senator to vote against the bill was Sen. John Breaux, D-La.
A call to Breauxs office for comment was not immediately returned.
Federal law and FCC rules prohibit over-the-air radio and television stations from airing offensive material that refers to sexual and excretory functions between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., hours when children are more likely to be tuned in. No such restrictions exist for cable and satellite TV or satellite radio.
The FCC currently has no power to regulate those channels, which are available through subscription to the 85 percent of the 108.4 million U.S. households with televisions.
Introduced in January, after FCC Chairman Michael Powell demanded higher fines, the bill wound up on a fast track to passage after the Feb. 1 Super Bowl halftime show that ended with Timberlake partially exposing Jacksons breast for an instant to 90 million viewers.
The incident generated more than 500,000 complaints to the FCC.
If the legislation isnt approved as part of the bill to authorize spending for the Defense Department, Brownback said he would try to find another way to get it through the Senate. This is something the public wants, he said.
The Senate also approved a provision that would delay for one year the FCCs media ownership rules that allow, among other things, companies to own both newspapers and broadcasting stations in the same market.
A consumer group cheered that action.
Once again the Senate has demonstrated its objection to weakening rules that keep massive media conglomerates from swallowing up local media outlets and ignoring community values, said Gene Kimmelman, senior public policy director of Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports.
Brownback said he wasnt sure that those provisions would make it into the final legislation that emerges from the Senate-House conference committee.
© 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
:eviltongu I expect to hear all the shock jocks crying foul...
No one wants to see that....well some might. But get Cable and go wild. Buy your soft porn and keep it off the airwaves.
ink:
