FCC Denies Lack of Guidance on Decency
The head of the Federal Communications Commission told television broadcasters that they should know what was indecent because the law had not changed in more than 25 years.
FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin denied accusations by broadcasters that recent agency decisions -- ruling that several programs that included profanity were indecent -- had failed to give sufficient guidance on what can be aired on television.
“The commission’s findings recently on indecency did not extend beyond some of the same words that were found to be upheld by the Supreme Court in the 1970s,” Martin said at the National Assn. of Broadcasters’ annual convention.
* President Bush plans to nominate Martin, a Republican, to serve a second five-year term at the FCC, the White House said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
