From the time this incident occurred during the 2004 Superbowl performance of Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake, all broadcast media licensed by the government has been treading on eggshells for fear of fines. In response to this wave of paranoia, I created "The R.I.P List" (Radio in Persecution) compiling a chronology of major events in the Indecency Issue.
Radio Indecency: Is The F.C.C. Breaking The Law?
In March, 2004, I wrote an opinion piece which suggested the F.C.C. was guilty of promoting an unstated censorship and breaking in spirit the censorship clause of The Communication Act of 1934 with its "...over-zealous response to a bloated wave of criticism originating with the Superbowl Breast Incident - [and] indeed guilty of creating a 'condition' which has put broadcasters on the defensive to the extreme, in fear of being fined and possibly losing broadcast licenses." Read More.
Comments
Hooray!
How CBS could be fined for something as unpredictable as this always baffled me.
I’m assuming the FCC believed the ‘wardrobe malfunction’ to have been a staged event for ratings purposes, and thus fined the network.
Not that I’m defending the FCC in this case, necessarily, but I’d much rather see Janet Jackson’s nipples and areolae than see the dead bodies of Al-Zarqawi, Uday or Qusay on the evening news. They may have deserved to die, but I don’t think people watching the news should have to be exposed to real life snuff pics as a wartime propaganda piece.
I’d MUCH rather see Janet Jackson’s boobs.