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'Jackson breast' boosts U.S. Senate to consider indecency bill
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-03-03 09:27
The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee will consider a stand-alone measure aimed
at cracking down on indecent television and radio broadcasts, a spokeswoman for
the committee chairman Sen. John McCain said on Tuesday.
Janet Jackson (L)
reacts after fellow singer Justin Timberlake ripped off one of her chest
plates at the end of their half time performance at Super Bowl XXXVIII in
Houston, February 1, 2004. The federal government's media watchdog on Feb.
2 promised to investigate whether indecency rules were broken during the
broadcast of the Super Bowl halftime entertainment show when pop singer
Janet Jackson's bodice was ripped to expose her right breast.
[Reuters] | U.S. lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives are pushing to
increase fines tenfold to $275,000 per indecency violation -- up to a maximum $3
million.
The Senate's first effort to raise the fines was included in a measure to
reauthorize the Federal Communications Commission and other issues, a bill that
has not advanced.
"Senator McCain anticipates marking up stand-alone legislation on the issue
of indecency in the near future," said Rebecca Hanks, spokeswoman for the
Arizona Republican. That bill is authored by Republican Sen. Sam Brownback of
Kansas.
Congressional efforts to raise indecency fines got a boost early last month
after pop singer Janet Jackson breast was bared during the Super Bowl football
halftime show.
But earlier on Tuesday, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said he must
first examine the legislation before he will decide whether to support boosting
fines and could not predict when the full Senate would consider the matter.
"There will be a continuous debate and hearings in all likelihood," the
Tennessee Republican told reporters after speaking to the National Association
of Broadcasters.
While most lawmakers support increasing indecency fines, members in the U.S.
Senate and House of Representatives differ on some key points, including at what
point regulators should consider revoking a broadcaster's license.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday is due to consider a
bill to increase fines and may add an amendment to require the FCC to hold
hearings on whether to revoke a broadcaster's license after three indecency
violations.
Janet Jackson is
shown in a videotape released to the media Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2004, in Los
Angeles in which she apologized for the breast-baring incident during her
performance at the Super Bowl halftime show. Jackson had previously
apologized Monday night in a written statement.
[AP] | The Senate panel has approved in the FCC reauthorization measure provisions
to hike fines but also require the Federal Communications Commission to consider
revoking licenses.
Broadcasters have been under pressure for years for antics on over-the-air
television and radio but intensified after a stunt went awry during the Super
Bowl -- Jackson's bejeweled breast was exposed for about half a second on Viacom
Inc.'s CBS television network.
Also on Tuesday, the cable industry sought to head off concerns about
indecency on its systems by launching a campaign to educate parents about the
controls they have at their disposal to shield their children from certain
shows.
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association, which counts cable
giants Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Inc. as members, told the FCC it would
launch a Web site detailing options for parents, run public service
announcements and send information to subscribers in the mail.
"The cable industry takes seriously your challenge and its responsibility to
help protect children from indecent and unnecessarily violent TV programing,"
said NCTA President Robert Sachs in a letter to Powell.
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