Indecency 

The crass and tasteless display during the Super Bowl halftime show highlighted the “race to the bottom” in which media conglomerates are engaged in today.  I can not help but believe that the major media conglomerates are preoccupied with their profits at the expense of upholding the community values that you and I share. 

My concerns about media content are not limited to obscene language and sexually explicit material.  Studies have shown that children exposed to violent video programming at a young age have a higher tendency for violent and aggressive behavior later in life than children not so exposed.  Children exposed to violent video programming are prone to assume that acts of violence are acceptable behavior.  A 2001 Surgeon General’s report on youth violence concluded that "media violence increases children’s physically and verbally aggressive behavior in the short term."  Additionally, the public health community has found well over 1,000 studies that point overwhelming to a causal connection between media violence and aggressive behavior in some children.

In 1996, I voted for the Telecommunications Act which expressly stated its intent that children be protected from "video programming that contains sexual, violent, or other indecent material."  Unfortunately, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the executive agency responsible for enforcing media legislation, frequently failed to enforce its own regulations.  The FCC has the authority to fine broadcasters for each indecency violation, to fine individuals for each indecency violation, and to revoke broadcasters’ licenses for repeated violations.  Yet the FCC has never used these powers.  And when the FCC has investigated rules violations, it has taken 1 to 3 years to reach a conclusion.

Local media affiliates have a community responsibility to deliver appropriate content.  However, there is only so much a local station can do when it comes to monitoring network programming.  The local station has the legal right to block network programming that it deems inappropriate for its viewers.  Unfortunately, the large media companies can threaten to cut off all content to local affiliates if those local affiliates block any programming more than 3 times.  That means a big media company can bankrupt a local broadcaster at will. 

H.R. 3717, the “Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004” was recently introduced in Congress by Representative Fred Upton.  This bill was referred to the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet on which I sit. 

Current law permits the FCC to fine broadcasters up to $27,000 for airing indecent material.  H.R. 3717 would increase the maximum fine to $270,000.  However, increasing the maximum fine without assuring FCC enforcement and addressing large media companies’ power would not effectively address this problem.  That is why I encourage FCC chairman Michael Powell to enforce existing regulations and examine the effect of media consolidation on indecent broadcasting.