In an about face, the Federal Communications Commission has dropped indecency charges against two television shows which used foul language, but upheld its charges against two others.
The FCC had proposed fines against several shows but did not issue fines against the four that are involved in the appeals court case, the New York Times reported. Attorneys for the FCC said that although the shows were indecent, they would not be fined because they aired before a policy change in enforcement of indecency rules.
The two shows were ABC ‘s “NYPD Blue,” and CBS’ “Early Show.” “NYPD Blue,” was cited for episodes that aired between Jan. 14 and May 6, 2003, in which some characters said the words “dick,” “dickhead” and “bullshit.”
FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin said the complaints against those shows were dismissed “solely on procedural grounds and they were not decided on the merits.”
The “Early Show” was cited after a “Survivor” cast member described another contestant as a “bullshitter.”
Last April, Fox Television Stations Inc., CBS Broadcasting Inc. and others sued the FCC on the grounds its indecency rules were unfair and asked an appeals court to invalidate its ruling that all four broadcasts were indecent, on the grounds that the action was unconstitutional.
But the commission upheld its ruling that a Dec. 9, 2002, broadcast of the Billboard Music Awards on Fox, was indecent. On the show, singer Cher used the phrase, “Fuck ‘em.”
It also maintained that a Dec. 10, 2003, Billboard awards show was indecent. On it, reality show star Nicole Richie said: "Have you ever tried to get cow shit out of a Prada purse? It’s not so fucking simple.”
