Scrubbing ‘Indecency’ From the Air

A small but vocal group of lawmakers in Washington have continued to play political cat-and-mouse games with artistic expression--first by delaying funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, then by trying to establish restrictions on the content of public television. Now they have succeeded in imposing a condition on commercial TV that so-called “indecent” programming be shown only after midnight.

Fortunately, they have not been able to achieve all their aims. Their delaying tactic eventually was pushed aside when the Senate, in a one-sided vote of 84 to 11, approved a three-year, $1.1-billion authorization for public television and radio. The majority also beat back an attempt to freeze CPB financing and reduce overall funding by $300 million. The freeze was backed by the Bush Administration.

It is true that television and radio are federally regulated media; it also is true that public TV and radio receive significant funding from U.S. taxpayers. So Congress, as the representative of taxpayers, may have a reasonable expectation that the range of programming on public TV be politically balanced. But that does not justify a Senate-approved amendment that some opponents contend would open the door for legislators to exert control over the content of individual programs.

Of special concern to free-speech advocates was the Senate’s approval of an amendment to CPB funding that would allow so-called “indecent” broadcasts to be televised only after midnight on most commercial and public stations. Those that sign off at midnight would be permitted to show such programs only after 10 p.m. Such restrictions have often wound up being challenged in courts.

The Federal Communications Commission defines “indecent programming” as containing “language or material that describes--in terms patently offensive . . . sexual or excretory activities or organs.”

Until 1987, the FCC prohibited broadcasting of indecent material between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Then in 1988, Congress directed the FCC to impose a round-the-clock ban on sexually explicit or indecent radio and television broadcasts. But the ban was not implemented because of pending court challenges. In the meantime so-called indecent material was permitted after 8 p.m. Last March the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling that struck down the government’s 24-hour ban as impermissibly intrusive on “constitutionally protected speech.”

The FCC should return to the reasonable standards on indecent programming that were in place before 1987. And Congress should remember that the best judges of what youngsters should be allowed to watch or hear are parents.