Janet Jackson’s breast continued to be a hot topic on the FCC 8th...
Janet Jackson’s breast continued to be a hot topic on the FCC 8th floor Wed., but it was unclear who should be held most responsible and when the FCC will act, sources there said. FCC Chmn. Powell’s probe into…
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allegations CBS aired indecent content during the Super Bowl halftime show could result in fines against CBS’s 20 owned and operated stations and the more than 200 affiliate stations that aired the broadcast. If the Commission levies the maximum $27,500 fine, CBS affiliates would have to pay $5.5 million, about the cost of 2 Super Bowl ads, while CBS, through its owned stations, would be fined much less. “If I was an affiliate I would demand that CBS pay for it,” said Lara McHanney of the Parents TV Council. The commissioners haven’t been given any time frame for action, a source said. CBS has several weeks to respond to Powell’s letter of inquiry. The probe could take several months, a sources speculated. Meanwhile, Consumers Union, in a letter to Congress, asked for reconsideration of FCC’s rules that relax limits on media ownership. CU also criticized the FCC’s inability to fine indecent content on cable and satellite TV. “In fact, if MTV, and not CBS, had actually aired the half-time show, the FCC would probably have done nothing,” the letter said. Meanwhile, the House Telecom Subcommittee announced its 2nd hearing on broadcast indecency this year on HR-3717, Subcommittee Chmn. Upton’s (R-Mich.) bill that would raise FCC fines for indecency, on Feb. 11, 9:30 a.m., Rm. 2123, Rayburn Bldg. Witnesses weren’t announced.