Fox calls FCC indecency rules 'radical'

By JOHN DUNBAR, Associated Press Writer
Wed Nov 22, 4:58 PM ET

WASHINGTON - The government is violating the First Amendment by
embarking on a "radical reinterpretation and expansion" of its power to
punish broadcasters for indecent speech, a federal court was told
Wednesday by Fox Television Stations Inc.

Fox, CBS Broadcasting Inc., NBC Universal Inc. and NBC Telemundo
License Co. are suing the Federal Communications Commission,
challenging the way the agency metes out punishment for airing shows
that contain profanity. Fox filed formal arguments in a federal appeals
court in New York. Later in the day, CBS and NBC also filed briefs.

The New York case is proceeding at the same time as a separate CBS
challenge in a federal appeals court in Philadelphia, where the network
is protesting an FCC fine over the partial disrobing of pop star Janet
Jackson during a Super Bowl halftime show.

In contrast to the Jackson case, Fox is challenging what it calls an
unprecedented campaign by federal regulators to punish broadcasters for
airing "unintentional and isolated expletives" during broadcasts.

"The result is the end of truly live television and a gross expansion
of the FCC's intrusion into the creative and editorial process," Fox
argued in its court filing.

David Fiske, a spokesman for the FCC, released a statement saying: "By
continuing to argue that it is OK to say the F-word and the S-word on
television whenever it wants, Hollywood is demonstrating once again how

BTR1701...

Why the FCC insist on characterizing an occasional expletive shouted by
a fan during a football game as "whenever FOX wants"? It's obvious that
FOX is arguing that these things are not part of their intended
broadcast and that they shouldn't be fined for what some random person
says during a live event. They don't "want" to say these words at all.

out of touch it is with the American people. We believe there should be
some limits on what can be shown on television when children are likely
to be watching."

BTR1701...

Yes, of course. It's always all about "the children". Whenever anyone in
government wants to control the behavior of adults, they always frame
the issue in terms of "protecting the children".

CBS said in a statement that what it is "seeking is a return to the
FCC's previous time-honored practice of more measured indecency
enforcement."

The case was sparked by a 76-page omnibus order by the FCC in March
2006 that settled "hundreds of thousands of complaints" regarding
broadcast indecency. In the order, the FCC proposed fines against
several broadcasts, but did not issue fines against four other shows
that dealt with profane language.

Broadcasters sued. Earlier this month, the FCC dismissed complaints
against the ABC program "NYPD Blue" on procedural grounds and reversed
its finding on CBS' "The Early Show" because of its status as a news
program. But the agency upheld its finding of indecency regarding two
broadcasts of the Billboard Music Awards on Fox.

The FCC will have an opportunity to reply to the broadcasters in two
weeks.