CBS would fight FCC fines

LOS ANGELES — If the Federal Communications Commission tries to make an example out of CBS by leveling huge fines, CBS intends to take the FCC to court. As well it should.

Six months after Janet Jackson's breast-baring incident at the Super Bowl, that half-second of indecency continues to be the flashpoint in the current debate over TV content. "Looking back, it seems like ancient times before the term 'wardrobe malfunction' became a part of our lexicon," said Viacom co-president and co-COO Leslie Moonves, whose duties include running CBS.

He didn't minimize what happened, but he also (quite correctly) urged it not be blown out of proportion. Reportedly, FCC staffers have recommended that the 20 CBS-owned-and-operated stations (including KUTV-Ch. 2 in Utah) be fined a total of more than a half-million dollars for Jackson's actions.

"We obviously had no control about it," Moonves said. "We deeply regret what happened. Having said that, we think the fine is inappropriate."

It's obviously an effort to punish the network for something it didn't see coming. Jackson has made it clear that no one at the network (or at corporate cousin MTV) knew anything about her plans, which she also maintains went further than she intended.

"We think it is grossly unfair that anybody to be fined for that," said Moonves, adding that CBS now uses a five-second delay on live events other than news and sports. "We think the idea of a fine for that is patently ridiculous, and we're not going to stand for it. We're going to take that to the courts if it happens. . . . It's perilously dangerous."

And it's patently unfair to fine only CBS-owned stations. That's the only way the FCC can get at the network, but if it's indecent on a station owned by CBS, how is it not indecent on a station affiliated with CBS?

As tends to be the case, the Janet Jackson incident is hardly what anybody would like to hold up as an example when it comes to any debate over free speech. This was a woman who was looking to boost her fading career with a stunt.

But would we be having this debate if, while CBS cameras were trained on the game, they caught for a half-second a streaker who made his way onto the field? No.

There's no question that this is a debate that broadcasters, the public and the FCC need to have. But this looks more like a knee-jerk reaction that's as overblown as coverage of the Jackson incident itself.