CBS and other broadcast television networks increasingly are pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable entertainment as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the government body charged with enforcing indecency laws, awaits an upcoming Supreme Court hearing in order to determine a response.
The Parents Television Council (PTC), a nonpartisan watchdog group, filed an indecency complaint with the FCC after an Oct. 20 episode of the CBS show “Two and a Half Men” which featured a three-minute-long strip club scene featuring a lap dance. The show aired at 8 p.m. in the Central and Mountain time zones, violating a law that prohibits the airing of indecent material before 10 p.m.
In September, CBS aired male nudity on “Survivor: Gabon,” which featured a scene in which a contestant’s genitals were shown falling out of his shorts as he ran. The episode began at 7 p.m. in Central and Mountain time zones. In August, CBS aired an uncensored utterance of the f-word on “Big Brother 10.”
Among other offenses by network broadcasters: an uncensored s-word during NBC’s “Today Show,” a nude photo shoot on CW during “America’s Next Top Model” and an uncensored f-word on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
Though the PTC has filed official complaints with the FCC for each of the infractions, the FCC has not acted. PTC president Tim Winter, who has two decades of experience in broadcast and cable as well as a law degree, said Congress has given the FCC sufficient authority to enforce broadcast decency law.
“It’s high time for CBS to be held accountable for violating the public trust, the broadcast decency law and the two consent decrees it signed with the FCC promising not to air indecent content,” Winter said.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on “fleeting” profanity in FCC v. Fox beginning Nov. 4, taking up the issue of broadcast decency for the first time in three decades. (BP)
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