The definition of obscenity became the central issue in ABC's coverage of the first major federal obscenity case in nearly a decade.
Last night ABC’s Nightline, a half-hour news show, examined the obscenity charges against Rob Zicari and Janet Romano, better known as Rob Black and Lizzie Borden.
ABC News correspondent Jake Tapper seems to have been granted the “porn beat,” covering the Extreme case for three separate news shows in less than one day. Besides Nightline, Tapper was also the reporter on the case for ABC World News last night and Good Morning America this morning.
The highlight of the coverage was Ted Koppel's interview with Drew Oosterbaan, chief of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. Koppel fiercely pressed the section head to define obscenity as Oosterbaan clumsily attempted to dodge the question.
"Where, if at all, do you draw the line in determining what you go after?" an irate Koppel finally asked.
“Your question assumes that that line is drawn solely upon content and it isn’t. That line is drawn from a prosecutor’s perspective on a number of factors including content and how egregious it is,” Oosterbaan answered.
Legal experts have said that Western Pennsylvania was chosen as the location for the trial by the federal government because they think that is where they will have the best shot of convicting the couple under the loosely defined "community standards" rule that is part of obscenity trials
Koppel pressed Oosterbaan on the location of the trial, Western Pennsyvania, asking him if an individual citizen from that area had actually complained about the videos in question.
"Perhaps not literally," said Oosterbaan, who went on to insist, "It’s fair to say there is significant outcry and reason to prosecute in this case."
However, most of Nightline and the coverage of the obscenity case earlier in the night by ABC's World News, had Tapper explaining the background of the case, including what U.S. District Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan obviously considered Zicari’s goading of the U.S. Attorney General on PBS Frontline.
Tapper covered the vagueness of our obscenity laws in his coverage even questioning if they are still relevant, noting that the "community standards" clause was established in a 1973 case.
AVN president Paul Fishbein called the community standards concept into question by mentioning that the pertaining laws were made before the advent of the VCR. Prior to the VCR, adult movies were watched in theaters and other public venues.
"Now you are talking about an obscenity law that is defined by comminty standards. You're talking about people who are consuming material in their own home…so I’m wondering what business is that of the community,” Fishbein said.
For her part, Buchanan warned the adult industry that the Extreme case was just the beginning. "The current prosecution of Extreme Associates should put the pornography industry on notice that the U.S. Department of Justice is vigorously enforcing the federal obscenity laws," she said.
Buchanan returned to ABC this morning, appearing alongside AVN publisher and editor-in-chief Tim Connelly on Good Morning America in a simultaneous interview.
Asked if he felt anything was obscene, Connelly said, "It's a subjective standard.I think that it's up to the individual. I think that the government's right to intervene in this situation ends at our bedroom door." Connelly then pointed out the vagueness of the law regarding obscenity.
"Mr. Connelly disagrees with law. It's up to congress to announce the law and it is the responsibility of the Department of Justice to enforce the law," Buchanan responded.
Connelly admitted that he personally found the Extreme videos distasteful, but still felt they deserved protection under the First Amendment.
“You defend it because you have to defend the worst case scenario. The First Amendment is set forth to protect people who want to say whatever they want to say within the rights of the law,” said Connelly.
Ask how far the government thought obscenity went, Buchanan admitted that is is conceivable that even Playboy could be considered obscene in some parts of the country.
