Kids Who Stand Up

EXCERPTED REMARKS OF FCC COMMISSIONER MICHAEL J. COPPS

INDECENCY SUMMIT WASHINGTON, DC MARCH 31, 2004

Let's begin with why we are here today. We are here because millions of Americans have made it convincingly clear that they no longer will tolerate media's race to the bottom when it comes to indecency on the people?s airwaves. We are here because it is no longer possible for your industry or the Federal Communications Commission to duck the issue with impunity. And we are here because people are demanding action now.

Commissioner Copps: What do you mean when you say "millions of Americans"? How many Americans would it take to convince the Commission that something must be done? If 90 million households in this country are comfortable with the use of the public airwaves, and 10 million homes are not, is that a call to action for the FCC?

Every day when I boot up my FCC computer, every time I visit a town or city anywhere across this country of ours, I hear the people's concern: we are fed up, they say, with the patently offensive programming coming our way so much of the time. We even had kids stand up and say how fed up they are with the programming coming their way.

Did you inquire how many people - including kids - were comfortable with television the way it is? And if kids were fed up with the blandness of television, would you consider it appropriate to allow more sexual content on television?

I believe that, as a society, we have a responsibility to protect children from content that is inappropriate for them. And the Federal Communications Commission has the statutory obligation, the legal mandate, to protect children from indecent, profane and obscene programming. I take this responsibility with utmost seriousness - ?whether I agree with it or not.

Commissioner Copps, how do you intend to deal with the recently released pictures coming from Iraq? Do you agree that these photos are indeed obscene? They represent the "trifecta" of objectionable material - showing unimaginable violence, cruelty, and perverse sexuality. Will you fine the stations for presenting these pictures when children are watching television?

Successful resolution of the indecency issues must in the end include cable and satellite. Most viewers, particularly children, don't recognize the difference as they flip channels between broadcast stations and cable channels. There is a compelling government interest in addressing indecency when children are watching.

There is a simple solution to the problem. Make parents aware that cable is obligated to block any cable stations that a customer considers objectionable. And there is always the "off" switch.

Yours is a proud and special industry, about as special as they get. You are stewards of a precious national resource, charged to advance the public interest in exchange for the right to use that resource. What you do affects profoundly the future of our kids and the future of our country. Passing our airwaves on to the next generation in better shape than we found them is your job and my job, and how you and I, in our individual ways, handle the matter before us today will provide ample opportunity for people to judge the success of our stewardship. They are watching and they are judging right now. Thank you and good luck.

It is my unsubstantiated opinion that many more Americans want to retain the status quo in media then want to "clean it up." People want the creativity that emanates from a Commission that supports free expression - and it is not okay to surrender the rights of the vast majority to satisfy a minority.

As someone who has viewed television from 1946, and participated in the process since 1956, I have watched television grow enormously in the amount, quality, and diversity of it's content. Does everyone like or want to watch everything that is presented? Obviously not. But, Commissioner Copps, compare the totality of what we have today with what we had yesterday.

You said, "Passing our airwaves on to the next generation in better shape than we found them is your job and my job." Please look at how much better television is today, and how much better it will be tomorrow if you don't apply the desires of a vocal minority to the process.

Norman Horowitz

Back to Articles