CBC Arts: US group protests inaction on TV decency violations

CBC Arts: US group protests inaction on TV decency violations

US group protests inaction on TV decency violations
Last Updated Fri, 30 Dec 2005 13:05:47 EST
CBC Arts

A major parents group in the U.S. says it is disappointed regulators did not issue any fines for on-air indecency in 2005 after a record number of penalties the previous year.

'Here 2005 is going to end � and nothing has been done all year,' says Melissa Caldwell, director of research at the Parents Television Council. The council has spearheaded a crusade against coarse language and sexual content on television and files many complaints with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The FCC can levy fines, often after an investigation and a vote by its five-member commission. It has not proposed a single fine for 2005.

Caldwell says she fears the lack of fines would encourage broadcasters to push the envelope with racier content in the coming year.

The council's primary targets include an episode of CBS's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in which there were references to the abuse of a man's private parts as well as the use of profanity during ABC's broadcast of the Live 8 concert in July.

The FCC imposed a record $7.9 million US in fines in 2004, including $550,000 against 20 CBS stations that aired Janet Jackson's nipple exposure during the Super Bowl halftime show."



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