FCC, Midwest media firm settle

A Midwest communications company has agreed to pay $300,000 in indecency fines in a settlement with the Federal Communications Commission.

As part of the settlement, Indianapolis-based Emmis Communications Corp. agreed that segments of a morning radio show, “Mancow Morning Madness,” that described sex in crude and graphic terms were indecent and that it would clean up its programs. In exchange, the FCC agreed that it would not consider the indecency complaints as part of the license renewal process.

Commissioner Michael Copps said he was troubled by the settlement.

“It is bad enough that our relicensing process has degenerated to the point where the commission generally does not even look at a station’s public file or inquire further into the station’s service to its community unless a citizen of that particular community brings an issue to our attention,” he said in a statement. “Today, the commission tells those citizens that some information is no longer relevant.”

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Lynn Smith