I don't know about you, but I think the FCC is crossing the line.

I would like each and everyone of you that feel this same way to please take a few minutes and sign the petition at www.stopfcc.com

Thanks!

 

That's a little bit non-descript don't you think?

I think Jiffy Peanut Butter Company is going too far. They've crossed the line.

Anyone who agrees ... put your name on a 3 x 5 post card and mail it to yourself.

 

Sorry

What I'm talking about is the restrictions the FCC is putting on TV - Radio - and other media...

They're censoring too much, stuff that is part of every-day life.

Is that what you're looking for?

 

I for one agree whole heartedly. This story has been in the news for a while now, most people that follow current events know excatly what is meant by the fcc crossing the line. They are beging to fine people who they believe are broadcasting things which they find offensive. The problem is there is no deffinition for what is offensive.

 

Heh, I was just ribbing you a bit.

Yeah I supposed they're getting a bit out of control. Companies should have the right to broadcast anything they wish. Consumers should know how to filter out what they don't want to see / hear or have their children see / hear. The problem is the filter doesn't exist. We have a radio station here in Little Rock who's morning show is run by a sexist pig. But they play good music. So I often tune in for music ... occationally I'll switch over and catch the DJ dishing out some line about "there was this chick with great tits that came to the station yesterday and rubbed her hooters in my face." Thanks, needed that.

So until there's a quality filtering system in place they have to halt it at the source.

 

There is, it's the little knob that changes the station. Check your local store because some models come with a secondary filter just to be 100% safe, an on/off knob.

 

But if I'm flipping channels on my TV and I come across Howard Sturn and a topless woman I'm going to be offended. I'm not going to turn off the TV. I'll change the channel. But I've still had to look at Howard's ugly face and a topless dingbat.

If cable channels could implement some kind of user end filtering (black box) that turns censorship on and off based on shows instead of entire networks, that would be cool. I don't know what they could do for radio. That seems to be more difficult.

 

I kind of agree with the statement that the FCC is crossing lines when it comes to censorship, however, while thinkig about this thread I've come to some conclusions as to why TV and radio are different then other media sources.

I think most people would agree that TV and radio are a little different then paper medias (newspaper, magazine, newsletters, etc.). At first I thought it was because they are the most commonly used medias for communication, however, as I thought more, it became apparent to me that that's not the only reason it's different. Whereas Magazines and newspapers require EFFORT to read and turn to the page you want to read, TV is more or less passive. In other words, the content of the TV show, radio show, etc is broadcast to you and you will immediately be interpreting that content whether you wanted to or not due to the fact that you aren't sure what the content is going to contain. I believe once Digital set top boxes are the norm, that people will have an easier time sifting through programming and avoiding content they don't wish for themselves or their families to be subjected to.

This lack of programming summaries across all televisions is what I believe contributes to a lot of the censorship problems on TV. As you can see, while this sort of thing is being tried on the internet as well, censors are not nearly as successful in passing such silly regulations because just like in paper medias, the user must initiate the content delivery by typing or visiting a website, which either by the link they are clicking on or the name of the site, they should have some idea of what they will be seeing.

Anyways, that's just my observations, I'm still anti-censorship and pro first ammendment, but I guess there is a real problem that the FCC must address, I just think I'd approach it from a different angle, suchass requiring all TVs to be able to display a viewing guide in an effort to allow the consumers to better control what their households are watching BEFORE they find out the hard way that there is offensive content in the program they are watching, which is the flaw with the "just change the channel" approach.

Just my $.02

 

The FCC is only responding to the actions of individuals who are not showing any self restraint. If Miss Janet hadn't taken it upon herself to become an exhibitionist at the biggest sporting event of the year, something noone at home watching with their children would have anticipated, the FCC wouldn't have to go this way. It's unfortunate when government has to interfere with issues such as this. It's more unfortunate that some of us can't use a little common sense so the government won't feel compelled to have to interfere.

 

You don't like Jiffy PB either? Oh the gall of those guys, I can't stand them!!!