Congress, FCC focus on pay television indecency

[CShine]

Outraged by how salacious programs on radio and network television have become in recent months, lawmakers vowed on Wednesday to look at indecent shows on cable and satellite channels.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain urged cable and satellite companies to offer parents the ability to pick and choose what channels they get so they can protect their children from violence, sex and profanity, an idea that resonated with other lawmakers and regulators.

Federal regulators and lawmakers have sought to sharply increase fines for bad behavior on over-the-air television and radio stations after a rash of incidents, from the exposure of pop singer Janet Jackson's bare breast to foul language on the radio encouraging sexual violence against women.

The concept is "more persuasive than ever in providing parents control over their television sets," McCain, an Arizona Republican, said during a hearing that was called before the Jackson incident.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=638&ncid=762&e=1&u=/nm/20040211/en_nm/media_indecency_dc

[Caution]

1. "Providing parents control over their television sets" ???

Ummm...Mr. Senator, Did anyone ever tell you there are two knobs on the television set? One of them turns the set off and the other one <smacks self in forehead> changes the station!!!! (carlin reference for those who missed it.

[TrogL]

4. My cable box has parental blocking features

Allows blocking:

• by channel
  
• by individual program
  
• by time
  
• by rating
  
• by genre
  

what more do they want?

[mantis49]

5. It's nice that you have so many options.

My cable company's box doesn't have those features. I called my cable company to request having MTV blocked when my daughter was in her early teens. I was told they couldn't do that. She was at home without supervision at times after school until I got home from work. She knew I didn't want her watching it, but of course she did when I wasn't home. Even if it could be blocked at the box, it would have been available through the TV tuner. (At that time, I didn't have a TV with a V-chip and couldn't afford one.)

I always resisted my daughter's pressures to allow her to have a TV in her room 'cuz "everybody else has one." I exerted as much control over her viewing habits as I could.

I think customers should be able to choose the channels they want and don't want.

[SaddenedDem]

2. Umm, excuse me, but...

as a parent I have COMPLETE control over what my children watch today. It's called the on/off switch.

[mumon]

3. There's even MORE knobs than that, though!

Both satellite & cable BOTH have channel blocking facilities; we're going to block TBN soon, because it's obscene.

[Sandpiper]

6. The solution has always been simple

If you don't like what's on TV, don't buy a TV, or turn off the TV.

If you don't like a network's programming, change the channel.

If you don't like what's on cable or satellite TV, don't subscribe.


McCain is a pro censorship fascist.

[DrWeird]

7. John McCain?

Last I heard, "gook" wasn't a very nice word.

[phrenzy]

8. When I Have Kids

I will not dare attempt to 'keep my kids away from the TV' - Anybody who thinks that doesn't make the forbidden fruit that much more desirable is kidding themselves.

TV is part of culture - and kids can not reasonably be expected to avoid it. Your kids WILL go behind your back to get their fix. Especially when they get in to their early teens they are going to go after EVERYTHING you told them not to. You can try to chain them to a bed, tape their eyes shut - Or you can immunize them from the most damaging effects the media can have on people (children OR adults)

What I *WILL* Do is enroll my child as soon as possible in to a Media Literacy class. Where they can see the process and calculation and phoniness behind things like MTV / Janet Jackson stunt, etc. Once kids have an understanding of the 'man behind the curtain' in TV it loses a lot of it's effect on them in terms of taking anything to heart.

The more media savvy your kid is the better.

[drscm]

9. I agree with the lawmakers on this matter.

Parents should have the power to block out channels like FAUX News.

Channels like FAUX give these lawmakers and their fawning press an avenue to say obscene things in front of my children and a gaggle of easily impressionable adults.

[Mountainman]

10. I think that the Repub Congress is politicking here

There are going to be a rash of items that they will "look into" in order to save their asses from getting kicked out of office.

I also think Janet's boob had a nipple ring of some kind of cover didn't it? That is all that's required at some beaches.

Of course if this were France or Germany we wouldn't even have to be talking about boobs, they are seen everywhere so Janet couldn't shock anyone there. The more that boobs are seen the less people pay attention to them. So a good way to protect the public from the kind of jolt Janet's boob did to them, is for all of us to grow up and get a little bit more mature about nudity and the human body. An exposed boob really isn't the threat to mankind that Congress would have you believe. Here in CA a woman may breast feed her child anywhere anyplace. It is the law and if by accident a boob is seen by a member of the public, the Sate of California doesn't think that it is such a big deal that they have to shame the woman into hiding herself.

You can take it from me. I have been a nudist since 1982 and have seen a lot of boobs. So far I have not be negetively affected in any way nor have the children of the families who come to camp.

So America, get over it!

[Bandit]

11. The human body is indecent but violence is just fine

Fuck these people. They haven't a clue as to what's indecent and what isn't. Seeing a titty is going to cause little Johnny to go out and rape and pillage but watching Ah-nold destroy half of humanity is A-Okay.