Showdown Over Indecency?

In case you hadn’t heard, several outlets have reported over the last few days on a recent decision by the four broadcast networks (NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox) and Hearst-Argyle Television to appeal in court FCC indecency rulings on programs that aired on ABC, CBS and Fox. We thought it worthy to note since one of the segments at issue was from a 2004 edition of CBS News’ “The Early Show.”

From The New York Times today:

Late last week, the networks filed lawsuits in federal appeals courts in Washington and New York to challenge indecency rulings against CBS, ABC and Fox involving coarse language. The rulings they are seeking to overturn involve obscenities that were used on the CBS news program "The Early Show," "Billboard Music Awards" on Fox and "N.Y.P.D. Blue" on ABC. The networks maintained that many of the remarks that were found to have violated the indecency rules were blurted out spontaneously, although the ones at issue in "N.Y.P.D. Blue" had been scripted.

NBC is party to the suits, even though "they do not challenge sanctions against any of its programs." The Times writes that “with no allies among either the Democrats or the Republicans on the [FCC] nor any significant ones in Congress,” the networks are turning to the courts, where they “are hoping to find a solid majority — perhaps ultimately on the Supreme Court — of liberal and libertarian judges who are more sympathetic to their First Amendment arguments.” The Los Angeles Times described the move as one “that seems certain to force a showdown over what constitutes indecency on the airwaves….”

If you’re interested, the segment in question from “The Early Show” was a live interview with a “Survivor: Vanuatu” contestant, who uttered “a variant of the ‘S-word’” on the program. You can read the FCC’s full ruling on the matter here.