WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats took turns yesterday criticizing federal regulators who they say haven’t done nearly enough to shield the public from indecent programming on radio and TV.
The lawmakers supported sharply increasing the fines which the Federal Communications Commission can level against broadcasters who air such shows.
Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., and chairman of the House telecommunications subcommittee that held a hearing on indecency, criticized what he called a “race to the bottom” among broadcasters.
“As a parent with two young children, I believe American families should be able to rely on the fact that — at times when their children are likely to be tuning in — broadcast television and radio programming will be free of indecency, obscenity and profanity,” Upton said.
The hearing was held a day after the FCC proposed a record $755,000 fine against Clear Channel Communications for the “Bubba the Love Sponge” program aired on four of its Florida radio stations.
The top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, John Dingell of Michigan, wondered if the congressional hearing had spurred the FCC to act to strongly.
“I hope it signals a heightened seriousness on the part of the agency, and I will be watching closely to see that the FCC does not backtrack on its newfound aggressiveness on this issue,” Dingell said.
House members of both parties have sponsored legislation to increase the maximum fine for indecency from $27,500 to $275,000. The Senate Commerce Committee already has approved such an increase, and the Bush administration endorsed the House bill, H.R. 3717, yesterday in a letter by Commerce Secretary Don Evans.
FCC Chairman Michael Powell has called for the higher fines. Other commissioners have urged that stations be penalized for each individual incident rather than pay one fine per program. Commissioner Michael Copps has asked his colleagues to revoke broadcast licenses.
David Solomon, chief of the FCC’s enforcement bureau, told lawmakers that the commission had stepped up its enforcement of indecency rules. It has proposed fining broadcasters $1.4 million in the last three years, compared to $850,000 in the preceding seven years.
“The commission is fully committed to vigorous enforcement of the broadcast indecency restrictions in order to protect the interests of America’s children,” Solomon said.
L. Brent Bozell III, president of the Parents Television Council, a conservative advocacy group, told the House panel that the FCC was not doing its job.
For example, the FCC had never fined a television station in the 50 states for indecency until Jan. 27, when the agency proposed a $27,500 penalty against the owner of the KRON TV station in San Francisco for briefly airing a man exposing himself. The only other fine for indecent programming on television was the $21,000 leveled against Telemundo of Puerto Rico License Corp. for three programs on San Juan’s WKAQ-TV in 2001.
“Looking at the FCC’s track record on indecency enforcement, it becomes painfully apparent that the FCC could care less about community standards of decency or about protecting the innocence of young children,” Bozell said.
William Wertz, who owns four radio stations in Kalamazoo, Mich., said part of the problem was that broadcasters were no longer governed by a code of ethics. The Reagan administration forced the National Association of Broadcasters to drop the code on antitrust grounds in 1982.
“We’re very concerned that we’ve witnessed a steady decline of over-the-air decency standards,” Wertz said, criticizing some of his competitors’ programming.
Clear Channel has called for an industry task force to develop indecency standards for radio, television, cable and satellite networks.
“We work hard every day to entertain, not offend our listeners,” said John Hogan, head of Clear Channel Radio. “None of us defend or encourage indecent content. It’s simply not part of our corporate culture.”