Legal case exposes debate over indecency
By RANDY DOTINGA - For the North County Times | ∞
Some mammaries just never go away.
More than four years after singer Janet Jackson gave the country an eyeful, the legal case surrounding the 21st century's most famous wardrobe malfunction is still unresolved. That means it's still unclear whether TV and radio stations can get socked with budget-busting fines when something naughty inadvertently ends up on the airwaves.
As you most likely recall, everybody went bananas when one of Jackson's breasts was accidentally exposed during a Super Bowl 2004 halftime show. Outrage spread across the land, and politicians rushed to the cameras to express their disgust that innocent children saw a live nipple on the tube for less than a second.
(On the other hand, nobody seems too concerned these days that idiot parents bring their little kids to violent movies like "The Dark Knight," the new Batman flick. I actually heard babies giggle during a screening last weekend. The therapy bills they'll need later in life won't be funny. But I digress.)
Anyway, the Federal Communications Commission socked CBS with a $550,000 fine. And suddenly, broadcasters started becoming ultra-careful. Paranoid even. A new chapter dawned on Monday, when a federal appeals court threw out the FCC fine, saying the agency acted "arbitrarily and capriciously."
In other words, the court thought the FCC had its head up its indecency policies. It's not over yet. The appeals court previously smacked around the FCC over its insistence on fining broadcasters over "fleeting" expletives, when someone cusses on the air but it isn't planned. But the U.S. Supreme Court is going to take that case, and it could well rule on the Janet Jackson case, too. The whole issue is a tough one to figure out.
The public airwaves ---- they don't include cable TV or satellite radio ---- supposedly belong to the public. So the FCC sets rules about what broadcasters can and can't do. That seems reasonable. But it makes no sense that a radio station could be bankrupted when someone spouts a dirty word during a live interview. Or when the person manning the "bleep button" is asleep at the switch. There's got to be a better way.
Well, he's clearly no Rush "$400 Million for Eight Years" Limbaugh. But conservative talk-show host Sean Hannity isn't going home with chump change. Hannity, heard locally on KFMB-AM, has reportedly signed a $100 million contract that will keep him on the radio airwaves for five years. He also continues to co-host a talk show on the Fox News Channel. According to Talkers Magazine, Hannity is the second most popular talk-show host in the country. In the third spot (tied with Dr. Laura) is one Michael Savage, also heard on KFMB-AM.
Savage has spent years saying outrageous things about everyone from gays to Muslims. In some ways, he makes Don Imus look like Vanna White.
But for some reason, few people pay much attention, other than those folks who devote their lives to being offended by things. His comments occasionally raise a fuss, but he still remains a major force in talk radio. Now, Savage ---- real name: Michael Weiner ---- may have gone too far. The other day he let loose with this commentary about autism: "I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is.
"What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, 'Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot.' "
Sheesh. A little verbal abuse is just the ticket for a troubled kid, right?
Maybe outraged people should hound Savage off the air, as happened to Imus last year. Or maybe the FCC should slap him with a big fine. Or ---- here's an idea ---- he should feel free to say whatever he wants, and listeners should feel free to locate the off switch.
Quickies
Remember when comedian Al Franken had a show on the liberal Air America network? His annoying voice drove some people up the wall. Now it's back ---- sort of. Some critics have noted that Heath Ledger's Joker character in the new Batman movie sounds a lot like Franken. One critic even thought it was that way on purpose. â€- There are ch-ch-changes at North County rock station KPRI, whose on-air staff has been fairly stable for years. Morning host "Madison" is heading to middays to make way for disc jockey Oz Medina, a veteran of another adult album alternative station in Denver. In another change, veteran DJ Meg Banta is moving to evenings and will now host her "unplugged" show ---- with acoustic music ---- on both Saturday and Sunday mornings. (It had been heard just on Sundays.) Jodina, the former evening disc jockey, will still be heard on weekends.
Unlike Sean Hannity, Randy Dotinga will only settle for $400 million for eight years. E-mail him at NCTimesRadio@aol.com.
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