|
U.S. PIRG Consumer Blog
« Morgenson: Owe my soul to the company store |
Main
| Offsetting "market disruptions," Bank of America buoyed by service charge income »
July 21, 2008
Court rejects FCC fine for Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction"
The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals today threw out the FCC indecency fine totaling $550,000 ($27,500 levied by the FCC on each of 20 FCC-licensed CBS affiliates) over the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show featuring Janet Jackson's infamous "wardrobe malfunction" in the company of Justin Timberlake. Story from the New York Times. Excerpt from a statement supporting the court's action issued by Jonathan Rintels of the Center for Creative Voices In Media:
[O]verly broad FCC decisions on what constitutes “indecency” that arbitrarily overturn decades of Commission precedent put creative, challenging, controversial, non-homogenized broadcast television programming at risk. In many cases, the very kinds of television programs that parents want their children to watch – high quality documentaries, histories, and dramas – have been impacted. Thus, the chilling effect of these now-overturned Commission decisions harmed not only media artists, but the American public. We documented this chilling effect in our report, Big Chill: How the FCC's Indecency Decisions Stifle Free Expression, Threaten Quality Television, and Harm America's Children...
Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at July 21, 2008 02:13 PM
Post a comment
|