It is a violation of Federal law to broadcast obscene or indecent
programming. Obscene speech is not protected by the First Amendment
and cannot be broadcast at any time.
The default setting for
broadcast television used to be family-oriented, while those desiring
edgier, more explicit fare were free to seek it out. Today's prime time
television programming has become almost uniformly unsuitable for families,
and often directly hostile to their values, making it very difficult for
parents to shield their children and seek out alternative entertainment.
Shows airing on broadcast television use the public airwaves. Because
broadcast channels are available free over the air, it is assumed that
children of any age can access their programming, and during prime time, it
is presumed that they are doing so. According to the Communications
Act of 1934, which sets the guidelines for the use of this public
property, programming must be in the "public interest," i.e., serve a common
publicly recognized good. It has never been supposed by the Supreme Court
that broadcasters have an absolute right to air whatever they wish with no
responsibility to the public interest.
LATEST HIGHLIGHTS
NBC Airs Unbleeped S-Word on Today Show On Thursday, September 11th at approximately 7:37 a.m. Eastern time,
Today show guest Hans Lange used an unbleeped
"s-word" in an interview with host Matt Lauer. Lauer
laughed after Mr. Lange said the word
-- and the Today show hosts didn't even
apologize for airing the profanity!
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The Parents Television Council is asking the court to take seriously ABC’s clear violation of the broadcast decency law during a 2003 episode of NYPD Blue. Abiding by the law should not be too much to ask from a network that uses the publically-owned airwaves for free.
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The Parents Television Council™ responded to Time Warner’s U.S. Supreme Court filing which argues that prohibiting indecent content on broadcast television could lead to regulating cable network programming for indecent content.
The Supreme Court has already established a legal standard for indecent content on broadcast television – a standard that is completely different from cable television. Time Warner’s brief is a solution desperately searching for a problem. ►
more
The Parents Television Council™ called out CBS today for yet another airing of an unedited “F-word” – the latest instance being on last night’s broadcast of the show “Big Brother.” The program aired at 9:00 pm in the Eastern and Pacific time zones and during the 8:00 pm hour in the Central and Mountain time zones. During last night’s broadcast, a woman named Libra was arguing with a man and said: “Memphis was in the f***ing room!”
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The Parents Television Council responded to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruling today that threw out the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fine given to CBS for airing Janet Jackson’s breast during the 2004 Super Bowl, which shocked millions of unsuspecting families and children. The PTC and its 1.3 million members led the charge to clean up the airwaves by calling on the FCC to levy a hefty fine against CBS and its affiliates for violating the federal indecency law over this so-called “wardrobe malfunction,” and the FCC rightly levied a fine.
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File Your Official Indecency Complaint With the FCC Today About
Swingtown Threesome
Swingtown, CBS' summer drama which glamorizes extra-marital partner-swapping, has been a ratings failure
-- losing 47% of its audience since its June 5th premiere. In a desperate move to lure viewers, CBS has upped the ante by making this drug- and sex-fueled series even more shocking. On the July 10th episode, Trina Decker is reunited with her high-school sweetheart, Luke, and engages in a threesome with her husband and Luke.
Broadcast Networks Celebrate 30th Anniversary of Pacifica by Trying to get it Reversed
“The broadcast networks are celebrating the 30th anniversary of Pacifica by trying to get that landmark Supreme Court affirmation of decency reversed. They have come up with a plethora of preposterous arguments as to why this law should be null and void. Let’s be clear: the only thing the networks are arguing for is the so-called ‘right’ to air expletives and show indecent content at any time of the day, even during hours when children are in the viewing audience. George Carlin’s ‘7 Dirty Words’ have never been prohibited from airing on television – they are simply limited to airing after 10 pm,” said PTC President Tim Winter.
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more
PTC
Criticizes Fox’s
Legal Challenge to
Financial Penalty
for Breaking
Indecency Law
The Parents
Television Council
criticized Fox for
filing a motion to
dismiss the indecent
“Married by America”
episode that
featured repeated
scenes of wild sex
parties including
nudity and graphic
sexual activity.
The FCC fined Fox
for this episode
that aired on April
7, 2003.
NBC
Believes Expletives, “MILF” and Men Groping Women are
Appropriate for Families
“We were the first to praise NBC for
returning to the Family Hour, but we must now be the first
to condemn their apparent abandonment of the previous week’s
so-called commitment. We repeat our request to NBC: please
make the Family Hour truly family-friendly. Responsible
television programming is good business."
Parents
Lodge
Indecency
Complaints
Over Nudity
on "Top
Model"
The
Parents
Television
Council
filed an
indecency
complaint
over CW’s "America’s
Next Top
Model" for
showing a
nude model
and is
encouraging
its members
to file
complaints
with the
FCC.
The episode
showed a
model posing
fully nude
for
photographs
while lying
on a bed.
The nudity
was
partially
blurred. The episode
aired on
March 26,
2008, during
the
so-called
"Family
Hour" at 8
pm ET/7 pm
CT.
The
Parents Television Council
filed an indecency complaint
over NBC’s broadcast of a
graphic nude scene during
Las Vegas on February
15, 2008. The episode aired at
9 pm in the Central and Mountain
Time zones.
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more
The Parents Television Council
called on NBC to change its broadcasting practices in response to NBC’s unedited airing of a four-letter word for female genitalia spoken by Jane Fonda during an interview on the Today show.
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more
The Parents Television Council praised the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for issuing the maximum fine of $1.43 million against 52 ABC affiliates for airing indecent material in an episode of
NYPD Blue. The broadcast at issue aired on February 25, 2003 at 9:00 p.m. in the Central and Mountain Time zones.
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more
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To read the entire FCC order, please
CLICK
HERE.
The Parents Television Council chastised ABC
for allowing the “F-word” to air unedited during
Good Morning
America today. Actress Diane
Keaton used the expletive during her interview
with Diane Sawyer during the 8:00 a.m. hour in
the Eastern time zone. The PTC is calling on its
members to file indecency complaints with the
FCC regarding this inappropriate and offensive
broadcast.
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more
PTC Member Activism Yields Results on Capitol Hill
Thanks to the coordinated efforts of the PTC and other family organizations last week, the once-stagnant
"Fleeting Expletives" bill has finally been reported out of committee and has made it to the floor of the Senate for a vote, and today, Senator Stevens, vice chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, called on his colleagues to quickly pass the legislation, saying
"I urge the Senate to take up and pass this important legislation because we must keep the airwaves clean… Children should not be exposed to indecent material by simply watching televi
New to the PTC?
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Thanks to the coordinated efforts of the PTC and other family organizations last week, the once-stagnant
"Fleeting Expletives" bill has finally been reported out of committee and has made it to the floor of the Senate for a vote, and today, Senator Stevens, vice chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, called on his colleagues to quickly pass the legislation, saying
"I urge the Senate to take up and pass this important legislation because we must keep the airwaves clean… Children should not be exposed to indecent material by simply watching televi