WQAM Miami faces 55K indecency fineBeasley's WQAM-AM Miami is the latest radio station to be hit with a proposed indecency fine by the FCC. The Commission wants the station to pay the maximum allowable fine of 55,000 bucks for broadcasts of the "Scott Ferrall Show" in morning drive on September 9th and 10th of 2003. According to a listener's complaint, Ferrall threatened a caller with being sent to prison, where he would be raped and sodomized - - and that while he was in prison Ferrall would "stuff his package into the caller's wife's mouth" and "do her daily." The listener didn't supply a tape or transcript and Beasley didn't have one either, but the FCC stuck by the listener's version of events and said the broadcast was indecent, rejecting Beasley's argument that the Commission's indecency standard is "unconstitutionally vague and overbroad." The vo! te for the fine was unanimous, but two commissioners had more to say on the matter. Michael Copps noted Beasley's argument that it shouldn't be convicted without a tape or transcript as justification for his plan to mandate taping by all broadcasters and Kevin Martin said WQAM should have drawn a bigger fine, with each utterance treated as a separate violation. Ferrall's show no longer airs on WQAM - - he was replaced by Howard Stern.
FCC and broadcasters pondering a Supreme challengeThe Acting Solicitor general has filed for an extension of time on behalf of the FCC as it considers whether or not to challenge the 3rd Circuit ruling on "Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC" in which most of the provisions of the FCC ownership ruling of 6/2/03 were remanded to the Commission for justification or modification. The clock is set to stop 12/2/04; the FCC wants until 1/1/05. Meanwhile, major media companies have also asked for a delay, saying they may challenge the very basis of the spectrum scarcity doctrine that has guided media ownership policies for three and a half decades. RBR observation: The FCC has a few strategic options to weigh here. The court remanded the rules back to the FCC, and while many opponents of the 6/2/03 ruling saw that as a repudiation of them, in fact, it contained no language on way or the other as to how the rules should be rewritten. In fact, they don't even have to be rewritten at all if the FCC comes up with better justification. Now that Republicans are guaranteed another four years of FCC control, they could simply proceed along the path set by the 3rd Circuit. Meanwhile, a Supreme Court challenge could wind up exactly as the 3rd Circuit case did, with the rules simply going back to the FCC for reconsideration. That would just tack more time onto the process. The FCC's recent history in the courts isn't pretty. You'd think they'd do as the 3rd Circuit asked. They may not like it, but at least they'd be in control of the proces s. To say the least, it'll be interesting to see how they decide to play it. More...
Three TV shows beat indecency rapEpisodes of "Keen Eddie," "Coupling" and "Off Centre" which were targets of indecency complaints have been let off the hook, although for two of them, it was by a 3-2 split decision among the five FCC commissioners. The dissenting commissioners were Democrat Michael Copps and Republican Kevin Martin. Republican Kathleen Abernathy and Democrat Jonathan Adelstein reluctantly supported the exoneration. Republican Chairman Michael Powell supported the moves but offered no comment. More...
Democratic FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein cleared the final hurdle Sunday, 11/21/04, and now has a seat on the Commission running to 6/30/08. The five-year term technically began over a year ago, in the summer of 2003. Adelstein's tenure began in December, when after much delay he was finally confirmed to finish a term begun by Gloria Tristani. His confirmation was blocked twice for political reasons unrelated to his own qualifications, once by Trent Lott (R-MS) and later by John McCain (R-AZ). This time, bipartisan calls for his renomination were ignored by the White House, which was apparently using Adelstein as a poker chip in its dealings with minority leader Tom Daschle (D-SD). Adelstein used to work for Daschle. According to the Associated Press, Daschle worked behind the scenes in finally securing Adelstein's new term. Adelstein said it was one of the last benefits that Daschle was able to provide to South Dakota, where Adelstein is also from.
WCAL Closed... Close encounter for Twin Cities twinsWell, only one of them is in the Twin Cities market, but two stations have officially changed hands in Minnesota, according to Greg Guy and Larry Patrick of Patrick Communications. The stations are WCAL-FM Northfield, in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and KMSE-FM Rochester MN. An 11.8M deal is sending the noncoms from St. Olaf College to Minnesota Public Radio. WCAL is MPR's third FM and fifth station in the Twin Cities market.
Viacom/FCC 3.5M deal leavesNipplegate in disputeViacom has followed the trail blazed by Clear Channel and Emmis, making a large payment to the US Treasury in return for a clean bill from the FCC in regards to numerous pending indecency actions. Pointedly, however, the consent decree does not include the 550K NAL regarding the Super Bowl halftime incident which aired on Viacom's CBS Television Network and was produced by its MTV basic cable franchise. As in the other consent decrees, this will bring to an end any indecency actions in the pipeline, as well as several which have been kicking around the Commission going back as far as 3/2/2001. Among them is the 357.5K fine of 10/2/03 resulting from the infamous St. Patrick's Cathedral incident. In addition to the contribution to the general fund, Viacom promised to install and use delay equipment at all of its stations, and to conduct company-wide training on the FCC's indecency regulations. It also admitted that some of th! e broadcasts for which it has been fined were indeed actionably indecent. All five Commissioners supported the move. Michael Copps even eschewed his habitual dissent, but still expressed his concern that the FCC has been down this road before with Infinity, back before it was acquired by Viacom, and now it's on the same path again. "Going forward, I urge my colleagues to accord prompt and vigorous attention to any future listener or viewer complaints against this licensee," he said.RBR observation: The total amount of Viacom's existing indecency vulnerability which had been previously announced amounts to 440K and change, according to the terms of the Decree, so there must be quite a bit as yet under the radar to make this look like a good deal to the powers that be at Viacom. For one thing, the undropped other shoe regarding Howard Stern - - Clear Channel was hit for half a million bucks for a show on just six stations, with nary a peep as to Viacom's bill - - will be whisked away without anyone ever seeing what the pricetag was going to be for Sumner Redstone and all the other Stern stablemates. We just heard Les Moonves tell David Letterman that Viacom was going to fight the Janet Jackson fine about a week ago, and this certainly confirms the veracity of that statement. However, we thought Viacom was going to fight the entire body of indecency regulation. We were very interested in seeing how well the rules would hold up under careful judicial scrutiny. It is certainly not Viacom's job or responsibility to wage that war on its own. Nevertheless, we are disappointed that such review seems likely to have been evaded for now.
From Radio Ink...
Senate Approves Adelstein As FCC CommissionerWASHINGTON-November 23: The U.S. Senate has approved Democrat Jonathan Adelstein to serve a five-year term at the FCC. Adelstein, 42, has been at the agency since December 2002.
Viacom, FCC Reach $3.5 Million DealWASHINGTON-November 24: Viacom agreed yesterday to pay a record $3.5 million to settle dozens of government investigations into allegations of indecency in its radio and television programming.
WQAM Fined Over Now-Defunct ShowMIAMI-November 24: WQAM Sports Radio in Miami faces a $55,000 fine from the FCC for airing graphic material on the Scott Ferrall Show last year.
AWRT Announces 30th Annual Gracie Allen Awards Call for EntriesMcLEAN, VA-November 24: The Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television is inviting entries for the 30th Annual Gracie Allen Awards, the industry award that recognizes exemplary programmin g created by women, for women and about women.
--------------------------- FCC items of note (regular filings and actions will be in a seperate blog - pumpkin pie).
WBDC BROADCASTING, INC. Denied two complaints by Parents Television Council against WBDC Broadcasting, Inc., for airing indecent material on October 3 and 10, 2002, during two episodes of the "Off Centre" program. Action by: the Commission. Adopted: 10/01/2004 by MO&O. (FCC No. 04-234). EB
