p2pnet - rss feed: Coalition disputes FCC Bono ruling
p2pnet.net News:- Radio stations are scouring their play lists and dropping, or heavily editing, songs that have been played for years without ever having drawn a complaint.
Examples include rock classics such as The Who’s ‘Who Are You’ and Lou Reed’s ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ to such current hits as Pearl Jam’s ‘Jeremy” and Outkast’s ‘Roses’ to even pop songs like John Mellencamp’s ‘Jack and Diane’ and Sheryl Crow’s ‘A Change Would Do You Good.’
And it’s all because of U2 singer Bono’s use of the fokken F word during the 2003 Golden Globe Awards.
It was indecent and profane, ruled the Federal Communications Commission. As everyone who doesn’t live in a cave without an online connection knows.
Now 24 diverse (and we do mean diverse - ie, even the RIAA is in on the act) individuals and organizations have come together under a 71-page petition filed against the FCC saying “vague and overly broad regulation allows the FCC to engage in subjective enforcement and forces broadcasters to restrict their expression to that which is unquestionably safe”.
The decision is prompting a growing number of broadcasters to “abandon live programming,” says the coalition in a statement, and also means significant restrictions on television programming, including programs the FCC staff previously ruled were not indecent, says the group, going on:
“For instance, the principals of this year’s annual Victoria’s Secret fashion show decided to scrap the already-filmed show, even though the Commission staff in the past had cleared the show. The new policy has led to changes in acclaimed network drama series, such as an episode of ER that was edited to eliminate a brief shot of the exposed breast of an 80-year-old woman receiving emergency care.
“The chilling effect has even caused public television stations to edit and in some cases drop serious documentary programs. Public broadcaster WGBH edited a hint of cleavage out of its American Experience documentary Emma Goldman, and PBS felt it had to edit certain nonsexual expletives from the poetry of renowned poet, writer and educator Piri Thomas in a documentary of his life.”
Organizations that filed the joint petition include the American Civil Liberties Union, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Beasley Broadcast Group, Citadel Broadcasting Corporation, The Creative Coalition, Directors Guild of America, Entercom Communications Corp, The First Amendment Project, Fox Entertainment Group, Freedom to Read Foundation, Margaret Cho, Media Access Project, Minnesota Public Radio, The National Coalition Against Censorship, National Federation of Community Broadcasters, Penn & Teller, People For the American Way Foundation, Radio One, The Recording Artists’ Coalition, Recording Industry Association of America, Screen Actors Guild, Viacom, When in Doubt Productions and Writers Guild of America, west.
[Anyone heard from Madonna on this? Just asking - Ed]
Go here for email addresses and phone numbers.
