Tweet
According to a new FCC estimate obtained by Mediaweek, nearly all indecency complaints in 2003—99.8 percent—were filed by the Parents Television Council, an activist group.
...
Through early October, 99.9 percent of indecency complaints—aside from those concerning the Janet Jackson “wardrobe malfunction” during the Super Bowl halftime show broadcast on CBS— were brought by the PTC, according to the FCC analysis dated Oct. 1. (The agency last week estimated it had received 1,068,767 complaints about broadcast indecency so far this year; the Super Bowl broadcast accounted for over 540,000, according to commissioners’ statements.)
The prominent role played by the PTC has raised concerns among critics of the FCC’s crackdown on indecency. "It means that really a tiny minority with a very focused political agenda is trying to censor American television and radio," said Jonathan Rintels, president and executive director of the Center for Creative Voices in Media, an artists’ advocacy group.
...
Through early October, 99.9 percent of indecency complaints—aside from those concerning the Janet Jackson “wardrobe malfunction” during the Super Bowl halftime show broadcast on CBS— were brought by the PTC, according to the FCC analysis dated Oct. 1. (The agency last week estimated it had received 1,068,767 complaints about broadcast indecency so far this year; the Super Bowl broadcast accounted for over 540,000, according to commissioners’ statements.)
The prominent role played by the PTC has raised concerns among critics of the FCC’s crackdown on indecency. "It means that really a tiny minority with a very focused political agenda is trying to censor American television and radio," said Jonathan Rintels, president and executive director of the Center for Creative Voices in Media, an artists’ advocacy group.
I heard this bit of news on the radio today and had to post it here. This one dopey parents group is trying to censor our TV. As mentioned in the snippet, one tiny minority with a very focused political agenda is trying to censor TV and radio.
This is absurd.
The FCC recently ruled that Saving Private Ryan was not indecent.
FCC: 'Private Ryan,' Sitcoms Not Indecent
February 28, 2005
By Todd Shields
WASHINGTON, D.C. Federal regulators on Monday decided the Veterans' Day broadcast of the movie Saving Private Ryan on ABC did not violate decency standards, despite the liberal use of the F-word and other expletives by the World War II soldiers depicted in the film.
The Federal Communications Commission also rejected complaints about episodes of NBC's Will and Grace and Fox's Arrested Development.
In considering Private Ryan, the agency denied complaints filed by the American Family Association, a group based in Tupelo, Miss., that is an active critic of broadcasts it feels violate decency standards.
More than 60 of ABC's 225 affiliates declined to air the movie on Nov. 11. They said they feared FCC sanctions, even though the movie had appeared on broadcast TV in 2001 and 2002 without any penalty by regulators. Since those airings, the FCC has ruled that the singer Bono's use of the F-word during an awards show violated indecency regulations.
On Monday, regulators said they had considered context in reaching their decision.
"This film is a critically acclaimed artwork that tells a gritty story," said FCC Chairman Michael Powell. "The horror of war and the enormous personal sacrifice it draws on cannot be painted in airy pastels."
Powell said ABC and its affiliates had provided "full and wide disclosure" of the broadcast's possibly controversial content.
February 28, 2005
By Todd Shields
WASHINGTON, D.C. Federal regulators on Monday decided the Veterans' Day broadcast of the movie Saving Private Ryan on ABC did not violate decency standards, despite the liberal use of the F-word and other expletives by the World War II soldiers depicted in the film.
The Federal Communications Commission also rejected complaints about episodes of NBC's Will and Grace and Fox's Arrested Development.
In considering Private Ryan, the agency denied complaints filed by the American Family Association, a group based in Tupelo, Miss., that is an active critic of broadcasts it feels violate decency standards.
More than 60 of ABC's 225 affiliates declined to air the movie on Nov. 11. They said they feared FCC sanctions, even though the movie had appeared on broadcast TV in 2001 and 2002 without any penalty by regulators. Since those airings, the FCC has ruled that the singer Bono's use of the F-word during an awards show violated indecency regulations.
On Monday, regulators said they had considered context in reaching their decision.
"This film is a critically acclaimed artwork that tells a gritty story," said FCC Chairman Michael Powell. "The horror of war and the enormous personal sacrifice it draws on cannot be painted in airy pastels."
Powell said ABC and its affiliates had provided "full and wide disclosure" of the broadcast's possibly controversial content.
Discuss.
Oh and here the link for that group of puritanical nutbags trying to censor our TV. http://www.parentstv.org/
Comment