FCC: Comment Period Ends For Indecency Standards

A proposal to change federal policy on broadcast indecency is denounced by tens of thousands of American viewers, but it is supported by industry leaders who want to see the “zero-tolerance” policy jettisoned, according to The Washington Times.

The tug of war over the Federal Communications Commission policy is not expected to be addressed until after a new FCC chairman and commission member are installed later this year.

But a comment period for the proposal — which ended Friday and collected more than 102,000 responses — showed the deep revulsion many Americans have for vulgarity, profanity and crassness, especially in television programming.

“The FCC asked for the public’s comment and they got it,” said Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council, a watchdog group for entertainment media. “By a margin of nearly 1,000 to 1, the American public told the FCC to enforce existing broadcast indecency law and not to weaken it,” he said.

Industry leaders, however, asked the FCC to revise their policy.

Boston’s WBUR-FM “never uses potentially profane or indecent language intentionally or gratuitously,” wrote Charles J. Kravetz, general manager of the public radio station.

But during and after the April bombing attack at the Boston Marathon, it was “virtually impossible to report on this unfolding story without the real danger of profanity ending up on the air,” Mr. Kravetz said, adding that fear of hefty fines affected the staff’s news reporting.

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