US MEDIA REGULATORS OUT TO STOP BROADCAST OF “FLEETING EXPLETIVES”
March 4th 2008 04:13
The US Supreme Court this week may reopen for the first time in more than 30 years the debate over what qualifies as an "indecent" broadcast, as part of the hunt for the dreaded “fleeting expletive.”The Los Angeles Times reports that the “media environment has changed dramatically since 1978, when the court last ruled on this issue: today's viewers and listeners are exposed to the more freewheeling cable TV, Internet and shock jocks on satellite radio.”
The LA Times said the issue before the court now is delicately described as the problem of "fleeting expletives" in over-the-air broadcasts, which are still regulated.
Upon receiving a Billboard Music Award for career achievement, Cher said the honor proved her critics wrong. "So f--- 'em. I still have a job and they don't," the singer-actress said on Fox TV.
After receiving complaints from viewers, the Federal Communications Commission moved to crack down on broadcasters who air "isolated or fleeting expletives" during daytime and early evening hours.
Last year, Fox and the other networks sued to block the new policy, and an appeals court in New York put it on hold.
Now, the FCC is asking the high court to clear the way so the crackdown can be enforced. The justices may act on the agency's appeal as soon as Monday. If they vote to hear FCC vs. Fox TV, arguments will be heard in the fall
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