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Oct 13, 2004

The Latest from the FCC




Apparently, the newly active defenders of morality are going to fine FOX a whole lot of money, over a million dollars, for excessive reality on its series “Married by America. To quote from this high quality link:

The morality mavens at the conservative watchdog group the Parents Television Council took offense at Married by America's match-and-mate shenanigans, which included contestants cavorting at a bachelor party with strippers and topless prostitutes and licking whipped cream from each other's bodies.


It is hard not to chortle at this turn of events: conservative group nails the fair and the balanced for being the lewd and the topless. But, alas, the card-carrying ACLU Civil libertarian in me keeps whispering that this is not all to the good.

Think about it. These fines that are busting out all over are doing strange things to our national wasteland. Auto race coverage, which for decades has promised us the possibility of death and dismemberment, live, at every turn, is now on a delay so that grown men can be bleeped. The same is being done at other sporting events. We can slow-mo a knee bending the wrong way over and over (before and after the Celebrex ad), but we’ll nip in the bud the sound that the player may have made.

Speaking of ads, in between the new cuss-proofed coverage, they apparently can promise men (and the women in their laps) a real lift. Women smile as a rejuvenated devil levitras his way back into the hubby’s leer. But if Janet Jackson even approaches a football stadium again, security will pick her up and deport her. Who knows; she may end up with Cat Stevens.

But, hey! This delay stuff has its advantages. A friend of mine had her TV picture on the Packer game Monday night, (Will the FCC fine the Packers? Someone should.), but she had the sound on from the radio coverage. Because the radio was not delayed, she was able to get some work done. Why? Because whenever the crowd cheered on the radio, she could look up from her work see the play they cheered on her TV. Live. Sort of.




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