FCC levies "NYPD" indecency fine

FCC LEVIES "NYPD" INDECENCY FINE
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Brooks Boliek, Hollywood Reporter]
The Federal Communications Commission on Friday determined that a woman's naked backside is indecent. It proposed fining the ABC stations that aired a particular episode of NYPD Blue in 2003 a collective $1.43 million. FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate said Friday's action puts broadcasters on notice. "Our action today should serve as a reminder to all broadcasters that Congress and American families continue to be concerned about protecting children from harmful material and that the FCC will enforce the laws of the land vigilantly. In fact, pursuant to the Broadcast Decency Act of 2005, Congress increased the maximum authorized fines tenfold. The law is simple. If a broadcaster makes the decision to show indecent programming, it must air between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. This is neither difficult to understand nor burdensome to implement." In its decision the FCC ruled that the February 25, 2003, episode of the ABC program "NYPD Blue" in which a nude woman is surprised by a young boy as she prepares to shower is too much for primetime broadcast TV.
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2534678020080127

* FCC Proposes $1.4M Fine Against ABC Stations for NYPD Blue
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6525921.html?rssid=193

* FCC Fines ABC Stations $1.4 Million For Indecency
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6525965.html

* FCC Decision:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-25A1.doc

* Commissioner Tate:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-25A2.doc

See also --
* Media Institute: Free Speech Threatened
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Media Institute president Patrick Maines sees a critical mass of threats to the First Amendment and is advising media companies that they are not doing nearly enough to repel them. In a stinging analysis posted on the organization’s Web site, Maines said freedom of speech "is in tatters," and it will take more than "sunshine weeks" and First Amendment coloring books to mend it. But he added that at least those organizations are trying. "Most are doing nothing," he said, "either because (1) they don't have any real understanding of the issue; (2) they trust that, in the end, they'll be saved by the courts; or (3) they don't really care so long as whatever speech controls are enacted are applied to everyone."
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6525942.html?rssid=193