Friday, February 22, 2008

The week in FCC nonsense

One of the reasons why yours truly discontinued the Worst Person In Media This Week award because the FCC and the Parents Television Council would be runaway winners every week...

- FCC fines thirteen Fox affilates for airing racy Married By America episode (what was that show again?)

- FCC fines 40 ABC stations for Feb. 2003 NYPD Blue episode (down from 52; some fines were dropped) - ABC stations pay fine, will take FCC to court

- Parents Television Council files indecency complaint against NBC's Las Vegas for last Friday's episode

Yes, Castro has stepped down and the Soviet Union no longer exists, but the real card-carrying commies are still among us - and they are living in the United States and go by the initials FCC and PTC.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You raise some good points in your post. Here are some facts that you might find interesting. An overwhelming majority of Americans (91%) object to government deciding what they are able to watch on television. When activists talk about protecting children instead of parents—here’s what they’re talking about: sixty-eight percent of the country’s 110 million television-viewing households do not include children under age 18 and households with children have different challenges to face due to the varying ages of kids within each family. Currently, there are 11 million households with children age 6-11, 15 million households with children age 0-5 and 9 million households with children 12-17.

TV has come a long way from the days of three channels and rabbit ears antennas. Today’s TV audiences are putting to use broadband, DVRs, TV video on demand, iPods and cell phones to greatly expand their choices about what, when, where and how to watch TV. New technology means consumers have more selection than ever and more control than ever over what they see on TV. We all have more choices and parents have more tools to ensure their kids only see what’s right for them. Let’s let parents decide—not government, for all of us.

There is more information to be found at www.TelevisionWatch.org

T Dog said...

Oh TV Watch, I think I love you!

Thanks for the information. I have visited your site before, and it has relevant information parents can use. This confirms what I've known all along - parents do not want the government to control their children's viewing habits. With so many choices in today's viewing environment, why are the FCC's actions even necessary? Kids can find a way to get around this. Go to YouTube, view their comment section on some of their videos, and there are swear words a plenty. Now, I don't advocate nudity and profanity on TV, but government action on these matters are totally unnecessary. The activist groups are out of touch with reality, as always. "NYPD Blue" was a show targeted for adults, and they know that. Or do they?

Don't the networks have standards and practices? (they had them since the days of "I Dream of Jeannie" when NBC wouldn't let Barbara Eden show her navel.) Let S&P do their job. I think the government has better things to do - like deal with the sagging economy, education, gun violence, and the Iraq War.

This is by far the best response I have gotten in the year and a half I've been running this blog. Thank you for sharing this information with me.

Terence