LOGICal eMOTIONs

Why is TV so sacred?

// January 29th, 2008 // Brain Dump

The other day (possibly yesterday), I noticed a posting on Truemors: How Much Ass Does $1.43 Million Get You?

It was essentially a reference to the fact that ABC got nailed to the wall with a $1.43m fine for showing some nakedness before 10pm.

For a reference point, here is the video:

Ok, so I personally (and I think most are with me) that I would rather see Charlotte Ross’ nakedness tastefully done as opposed to the numerous naked Denis Franz ass shots which NYPD Blue insisted on filming and airing back in the day.. But wait – it’s OK to see Mr. Franz’s butt after 10pm…

The clip above was a whole 42 seconds of really, nothing at all, yet it cost ABC over a million dollars to air it back in 2003. Yes, that’s right, the clip was shown in 2003 and just now the FCC is getting around to levying a fine.

The crux of their ruling is simply:

“Under the FCC’s indecency statutes, over-the-air radio and television stations are prohibited from broadcasting “patently offensive” material of a sexual or excretory nature from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., when children are most likely to be watching.” -Article

Wait a minute. From 6am to 10pm when children are most likely to be watching TV.. I’m sorry, but if NYPD Blue airs at 10am on whatever channel and your kids are allowed to watch – it’s a parenting issue, not a broadcast issue. But wait, in the same article they mention that

“The FCC’s indecency statutes do not extend to cable and satellite programming.”

WHAT?!

Reality check here people. Ok, you’re not allowed to air certain things before 10pm on television, yet we can get just about anything imaginable online, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With such a huge shift moving to the internet, why is that we still have these rules in place? Why is it that television is so heavily regulated in a world where de-regulation is becoming the norm?

What is it about television that makes it so sacred that we must regulate and protect it at all costs?

Sure, children might be watching, but so what? No, seriously, why does your lack of parenting translate into nation-wide regulation? The brutal fact is that if you kick them out of the room because Denis Franz’s butt is showing at 8pm, they can simply walk to the next room, fire up the computer, and load up some hard core porn that would make Larry Flint cower in the corner. Heck, they’re probably doing that anyways while you’re engrossed in some trash programming and ignoring them when you should be spending some quality time with them and actually being a good parent.

ABC gets slammed with a $1.43 million dollar fine likely because some parent walked into the room at the exact moment that that scene was shown, and rather than vow to limit the electronic babysitter and have more control over what their children actually watch, no, they complain to the FCC. If you decide that your children are old enough to watch such a show, are the not old enough to see a woman’s butt?

The argument isn’t whether or not there is too much violence or sex on television simply because that one always comes down to actual parenting vs. electronic babysitter. No, the argument, or rather question is simply: why is television so protected in a world with options that have no such regulations?

Are these regulations still relevant? I don’t believe that they are. If I go to xyzporno.com I’m pretty sure of what I’m going to find there. If I go to CBC.ca I’m also pretty sure of what I’m going to find there. Parents are getting better and better at regulating what their children can and cannot access online, yet the same practices don’t spill back over onto television. If I tune into CBC, CTV, ABC, NBC, or whatever, I am pretty confident that they won’t be airing hard core pornography. If I tune into PlayboyTV, I’m quite confident that I will find material inappropriate for a younger audience, yet because the FCC has certain rules and regulations, it’s almost as if parents rely on those regulations too heavily and go off the deep end when they discover their children watching television they shouldn’t be.

A major network like ABC isn’t going to jeopardize their business by showing hard core pornography and neither is WashingtonPost.com. If we can self-regulate online, why can we not also do so on the television and radio mediums?

I find evangelical christians to be offensive yet there is no regulation against airing religious messages between 6am and 10pm when children might be watching…

Photo by Soviet

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