FCC Chief Calls Super Bowl Show 'New Low'
Feb 11, 12:00 PM (ET)
By JONATHAN D. SALANT
WASHINGTON (AP) - Janet Jackson's Super Bowl exposure was "a new low for prime-time television," the government's chief broadcast regulator told lawmakers Wednesday.
"The now infamous display during the Super Bowl halftime show, which represented a new low in prime-time television, is just the latest example in a growing list of deplorable incidents over the nation's airwaves," FCC Chairman Michael Powell told the Senate Commerce Committee.
Powell was joined by the four other FCC commissioners, all of whom have called for tougher penalties against broadcasters who violated indecency laws.
Powell told lawmakers the commission has aggressively gone after violators and would start doing more, including fining broadcasters for each incident rather than each program, and revoking licenses of some serial violators.
And he said he has asked broadcasters and cable operators to take steps to curb indecent and other inappropriate programming.
"Action must be taken by the entire television and radio industry to heed the public's outcry and take affirmative steps to curb the race to the bottom," Powell said. "This industry simply must help clean up its own room."
After appearing before the committee, all five commissioners were heading for the other side of the Capitol and an encore performance in front of the House telecommunications subcommittee.
