CBS Fined $550,000 for Jackson Stunt

[Newsjock]

edit to add link to AP story

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Communications Commission fines CBS a
record $550,000 for Janet Jackson’s breast-exposing dance at Super
Bowl halftime show.

http://www.xposed.com/headline_news/90_ds_1007955.aspx

The Associated Press

Federal regulators on Wednesday fined CBS a record $550,000 for Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction," which exposed the singer's breast during this year's Super Bowl halftime show.

The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to slap each of the 20 CBS-owned television stations with the maximum indecency penalty of $27,500. The total penalty of $550,000 is the largest fine levied against a television broadcaster. Most of the FCC's bigger fines have been against radio stations.

The agency's five commissioners decided not to fine CBS' more than 200 affiliate stations, which also aired the show but are not owned by the network's parent company, Viacom.

more

[soleft]

1. Can we go back now and fine ABC for David Caruso's ass?

Just wondering.

[zbdent]

7. Caruso's? What about Dennis Franz's?

And I've been to a Spencer Tunick shoot!

[maxsolomon]

2. and 50k extra for memogate!

jesus christ its just a tit. and the nipple shield kept most of it out of sight. so the fine is for what? the UNDERSIDE of her breast?

[PROGRESSIVE1]

3. If this happened on Fox, we would not see ANY FINE!

:grr:

This is Facsism!

[21winner]

10. Hello.

Here is a clue. The FCC doesn't and shouldn't regulate cable TV.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

11. Well then I suggest that we get a Left Leaning Fox "News" Channel then.

[mark0rama]

23. Fox is a broadcast network, not cable.

Unless you're talking about Fox News Channel, or FX.

[sui generis]

4. CBS is appealing the fine

and they should. The FCC is so far out of line on this it is beyond absurdity. No one was harmed. It's official that it was an accident. Punishment should be reserved for breaking the law, not making political statements. I hope CBS creams their ass.

[zbdent]

5. And yet Fox shows the Boob on TV all the time

and no fines for them . . .

[Kitsune]

9. Hey yeah, has Fox caught any FCC flak over that, erm, incident?

You know, where they blurred out the breasts and completely missed the massive penetration right next to the anchor's head?

[21winner]

12. The FCC doesn't regulate cable TV.

n/t

[zbdent]

14. Tell that to HBO

which some Repukes want to regulate more . . .

[mac56]

6. Payback for memogate?

I say yes.

[AIJ Alom]

8. Fascinating....

I'd say more people in the world are offended by seeing George W Bush (a figurative boob) on television than Janet Jackson's.

[takumi]

13. The FCC is truly a F*d'up Corrupt Commission

[kcwayne]

15. When will they fine Eli Lilly Co for Cialis commercials

that come on 4 times an hour to explain to my 13 year old how she can be sexually fullfilled with her partner's improved erection quality if he would only take Cialis.

[Deja Q]

16. Cool. So can gun companies now be held liable for gun-related crime?

:shrug:

CBS didn't know Janet would have her boob exposed...

[Fovea]

17. Like no fine at all

consider what they charged for advertising per minute.

Lesson- Naked Pays! Expect to see a rash of costume malfunction in the future. (not that I am complaining)

[Gregorian]

18. I find O'Rielly infintely more offensive.

What a stupid ass country. Sorry, I just can't tolerate the bullshit. We're knee deep in it. Novak's lies cost the country. Janet didn't do any harm to anyone. Maybe she irked a few Puritans.

[ChrisK]

19. Why is Ms Jackson not being fined?

I'm not saying I agree with the FCC in any way here but isn't it the person not the Station that should be asked to pay the fine?...She and Mr Timberlake showed them what the dance routine was going to be and they (CBS) were fine with it...I don't think they thought it was going to involve her exposing a breast to there audience, not that I know of anyway.

Still the question I ask is :Are we such prudes in the US that a womens breast is so offensive that it would cause this big a ripple that an agency like the FCC needs to get involved?...I have seen Lil' Kim at one of the MTV awards show have on just a nipple guard and one breast hanging out and didn't see the FCC handing out fines in the six figures.

So hate speech on TV is OK but a bear breast isn't?

[smirkymonkey]

20. I suspect an updated version of the Hays Commission

is right around the corner.

Get ready for Christian Cinema!

[TexasBushwhacker]

21. And it took them 8 months to decide this?

Gosh, (in my best Church Lady voice) how CONVEEEEEENIENT! Of course, Memogate (which was set up by Bushco) and CBS breaking the Abu Ghraib story have NOTHING to do with this. Yeah, right.

I hope Michael Powell finds those kneepads COMFY! He makes his daddy proud.

[rocktivity]

22. That's $225K each, Janet and Justin--PONY UP!!!

:headbang:
rocknation

[Psephos]

24. Gives new meaning to the phrase "how much did those cost?"

I, for one, am glad to see a breast on TV anytime one is offered. But others may not feel the same way, particularly during a show in which one has no reasonable expectation of encountering nudity. I can respect that.

I don't want to interfere with other peoples' right to watch what they want and avoid what they don't want to watch (or more particularly, their children), just as I don't want anyone else to impose their preferences on me. That's the beauty of cable. On cable, the FCC rules don't apply.

CBS is a broadcast network, which means it uses publicly-owned spectra (the "airwaves") to send its signal out. Part of the decades-old agreement between government and broadcasters is that in exchange for use of the spectra, broadcasters will adhere to certain lowest-common-denominator standards concerning content. You may or may not agree with these standards, but they are the law, and everyone went into the deal with eyes wide open.

On cable, no public spectra are used, so the deal doesn't apply.

If, like me, you think the law should be changed, then use the appropriate democratic tools. Raise a stink. Become a force for change. But don't fall into the trap of advocating illegal disregard of law based on your politics. The guys on the other side of the fence will feel equally righteous about doing the same. This business of choosing which laws we want to obey and which ones we'll just flout with a sneer is the short road to anarchy and chaos. Sure, laws suck, and the process by which they are made sucks and cannot be perfected, but having no laws sucks even worse.

[newyawker99]

25. Hi Psephos!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast: