Some stations want cursing out of '9/11'

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Date: September 4, 2006 2:04:54 PM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Some stations want cursing out of '9/11'
Reply-To: dewayne () warpspeed com

 Some stations want cursing out of '9/11'

By LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Press WriterSun Sep 3, 10:41 PM ET
<http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060904/ap_en_tv/cbs9_11_film>

Broadcasters say the hesitancy of some CBS affiliates to air a  
powerful Sept. 11 documentary next week proves there's been a  
chilling effect on the First Amendment since federal regulators  
boosted penalties for television obscenities after Janet Jackson's  
breast was exposed at a Super Bowl halftime show.

"This is example No. 1," said Martin Franks, executive vice president  
of CBS Corp., of the decision by two dozen CBS affiliates to replace  
or delay "9/11" — which has already aired twice without controversy —  
over concerns about some of the language used by the firefighters in it.

"We don't think it's appropriate to sanitize the reality of the hell  
of Sept. 11th," Franks said. "It shows the incredible stress that  
these heroes were under. To sanitize it in some way robs it of the  
horror they faced."

Actor Robert De Niro hosts the award-winning documentary, which began  
as a quest to follow a rookie firefighter on an ordinary day but  
resulted in the only known video of the first plane striking the  
World Trade Center and horrific and inspiring scenes of rescue,  
escape and death. CBS will show it on Sept. 10 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.  
EDT, profanity intact.

Carter G. Phillips, a lawyer for Fox Television Stations Inc., cited  
the decision by several CBS affiliates to replace the documentary or  
show it after 10 p.m., the time at which the Federal Communications  
Commission loosens restrictions, when he spoke last week to the 2nd  
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan.

Phillips addressed the court as part of a hearing on whether the FCC  
rushed to judgment in concluding that "NYPD Blue" and three other  
programs violated decency rules.

Saying the FCC was chilling free speech rights, Phillips mentioned  
the documentary to show the court how timid broadcast companies had  
become since the FCC toughened its position toward profanities after  
the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show on CBS, in which Jackson's breast  
was briefly bared.

Congress recently boosted the maximum fines the FCC can impose for  
indecency from $32,500 to $325,000.

So far, about a dozen CBS affiliates have indicated they won't show  
the documentary, another dozen say they will delay it until later at  
night and two dozen others are considering what to do.

[snip]
Weblog at: <http://weblog.warpspeed.com>



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