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Culture: Raunch and End of Live TV February 05, 2004 Source: http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20040205/5900299s.htm Raunchy behavior busts out all over Bono and the f-word started FCC scrutiny By Ann Oldenburg USA TODAY Well before Janet Jackson's Super Bowl halftime stunt, the Federal Communications Commission was being pressured to crack down on indecency. For months, the focus has been on dirty words that have found their way onto broadcast television with increasing frequency: * U2 rocker Bono uttered the f-word at last year's live Golden Globes show on NBC. * Nicole Richie said the s-word and f-word at last year's live Billboard Music Awards show on Fox. * Diane Keaton on Jan. 25 spoke the s-word on the live Golden Globes broadcast on CBS. What the (bleep) is going on? Celebrities on live network shows are pushing the envelope for broadcast television, which already faces competition from unregulated, racier cable. ''Most people have no idea how bad it's gotten,'' says Brent Bozell, president of the Parents Television Council, a veteran advocacy group. Or they didn't until now. A rumbling of discontent has been building since October, when the FCC quietly ruled that Bono's profanity was not a punishable offense. The FCC's reasoning: He used the f-word as an adjective when he won, saying, ''This is really, really (expletive) brilliant.'' In that context, the FCC said, the word wasn't offensive. An unrelenting drumbeat by the Parents Television Council followed, and now, as Bozell proudly puts it, the issue has garnered the support of ''an outraged Congress.'' Several bills have been introduced urging action by the FCC. Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., held a hearing last month, proposing the FCC's maximum fines be increased. Another hearing, chaired by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is scheduled for Wednesday to again examine how to protect children from indecent programming. The next TV test will be Sunday's Grammy Awards, live from Los Angeles, on CBS at 8 p.m. ET (taped PT). In addition to a bleep delay for language, the network will implement a longer delay to obscure objectionable video if needed. Fox Networks Group President Tony Vinciquerra says profanity on the airwaves is a big concern. Celebrities ''may be doing this on purpose, testing censors and trying to impress their friends,'' he says. ''They probably think it's a cool thing to do, not realizing how much they're putting broadcast stations at risk. ''One of the things that we all should think about: Is this the end of live television as we know it?'' |
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