With Television Profanity On The Rise, Parents
Find Help
WASHINGTON, DC, July 27, 2010 - (BP)--First, a
federal appeals court struck down the FCC's broadcast
indecency policy that regulated TV obscenities. Then,
the former FCC chairman who enforced the policy said
he has had a change of heart and now believes curse
words on TV deserve "full First Amendment protection."
With television perhaps on the verge of becoming even
more coarse and vulgar, what's a parent to do?
A number of companies in recent years have sold products
to help families customize movies and TV programs to
their liking, but they're getting more attention now
in light of the court's ruling. A device called TVGuardian
mutes foul language on television and DVD movies, while
another device, the ClearPlay DVD player, not only
mutes language on DVD movies but also skips objectionable
scenes. Both companies recently announced new models.
"Those of us who have been around a little bit
longer tend to remember when most movies were PG at
the theater. On TV, you didn't hear any foul language," Britt
Bennett, president of TVGuardian, told Baptist Press. "Now
the whole landscape has changed."
On July 13 a three-judge panel of the U.S. Second Circuit
Court of Appeals' overturned the FCC's indecency policy,
ruling that the commission was wrong to find Fox Television
in violation when a series of fleeting f-words were
said on live TV in 2002 and 2003. The judges also said
-- without prodding -- that they thought the Supreme
Court's 1978 FCC v. Pacifica Foundation case, which
provides the foundation for regulating broadcast content,
should someday be reversed.
The Hollywood Reporter warned that in light of the
court ruling, "Primetime TV this fall is going
to be chock-a-block with even more blatant sexuality
and raunchy language. It's a trend that's been a long
time coming and is now accelerating."
TVGuardian was a leader in its niche industry for years
but fell behind when high definition television grew
in popularity. Although its older models could not
filter HDTV, its newest model -- due out in August
-- can. TVGuardian also is releasing a standard definition
model for customers who do not need a high definition
filter. It now is the only product on the market that
filters television programs. It searches for foul language
in closed captioning and simultaneously "mutes" the
volume; it does not filter live programming.
Bennett said too many families have set up a "moral
double standard" in their home.
"If you invite me to your house for dinner and
you've got kids there and I start using Jesus' name
as a curse word and using all sorts of foul language,
you'll be like, 'We don't use that language in our
home.' But then people finish dinner, they walk into
the living room, and they're essentially inviting people
who speak like that into their home," he said.
The court's ruling had plenty of fans.
Michael K. Powell, who was the chairman of the Federal
Communications Commission when it found Fox in violation
of the indecency policy, wrote a column for The New
York Times applauding the decision and arguing that
the FCC's decision was a mistake. He said he had joined
the FCC's ruling against Fox "with reservations."
"It is time now for the Supreme Court to revisit
its half-century-old decision that broadcasting alone
is undeserving of full First Amendment protection," Powell
wrote, noting that the Supreme Court's opinion was
handed down in an era without cable, satellite and
the Internet. "... If the case for lesser speech
protection for broadcasting was ever sound, that case
is eviscerated today by the sheer abundance and accessibility
of other media sources, which enjoy full constitutional
protection. We cannot have one First Amendment for
broadcasting and another one for every other medium."
The Chicago Tribune's Steve Chapman called the FCC
policy "censorship," asserting that the "FCC
and its supporters seem to think Americans desperately
need government assistance to protect themselves and
their children against an onslaught of filth."
"But why?" he asked. "Since broadcasters
have an interest in not alienating their audiences,
they are bound to exercise discretion."
But that doesn't seem to be the case with this fall's
lineup, where NBC is promoting a sexually charged comedy
called "Friends With Benefits" and CBS is
advertising a comedy, "$#*! My Dad Says," that
is bound to push the envelope.
Chapman argues parents can fight back by "deploying
V-chips" that are found in all new televisions
and are intended to block programs with objectionable
content, but critics say the technology relies on a
network self-rating system that doesn't work. A 2007
Parents Television Council study of 546 hours of primetime
broadcast programming found that two-thirds of the
shows had objectionable content without the proper
warning label.
TVGuardian's Bennett said he's never considered the
V-chip a viable option.
"I can already decide to block out the whole program
by not watching it in the first place," he said. "So,
for me personally, the V-chip was not a technology
I used. I can already turn it off."
Although TVGuardian allows families to watch TV programs
and DVD movies without foul language, it does not block
all objectionable content; for instance, violence and
sexuality are seen, uncensored. There currently is
no product that skips all objectionable content on
TV as it is aired, but some families have chosen to
wait until their favorite programs come out on DVD
and watch them on a ClearPlay DVD player, which uses
downloadable "filters" to skip objectionable
scenes -- such as bloody, violent content -- and mute
foul language. The company has filters for hundreds
of movies and TV programs, including "24" and "Lost."
ClearPlay and TVGuardian both rely heavily on Internet
sales. ClearPlay is not sold in any mainstream stores,
and TVGuardian won't be either. TVGuardian was sold
in Walmart several years ago but will use a different
marketing model this time, working with ministry partners.
There also is a rental option.
"Not everybody believes in the need for this but
those that do feel very passionately about it," Bennett
said.
# # #
By Michael Foust - Michael Foust is an assistant
editor of Baptist Press. For information about TVGuardian
or ClearPlay, visit www.TVGuardian.com or www.ClearPlay.com .
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Baptist Press
Web site: www.bpnews.net
WASHINGTON, DC, July 27, 2010 - (BP)--First, a
federal appeals court struck down the FCC's broadcast
indecency policy that regulated TV obscenities. Then,
the former FCC chairman who enforced the policy said
he has had a change of heart and now believes curse
words on TV deserve "full First Amendment protection."
With television perhaps on the verge of becoming even
more coarse and vulgar, what's a parent to do?
A number of companies in recent years have sold products
to help families customize movies and TV programs to
their liking, but they're getting more attention now
in light of the court's ruling. A device called TVGuardian
mutes foul language on television and DVD movies, while
another device, the ClearPlay DVD player, not only
mutes language on DVD movies but also skips objectionable
scenes. Both companies recently announced new models.
"Those of us who have been around a little bit
longer tend to remember when most movies were PG at
the theater. On TV, you didn't hear any foul language," Britt
Bennett, president of TVGuardian, told Baptist Press. "Now
the whole landscape has changed."
On July 13 a three-judge panel of the U.S. Second Circuit
Court of Appeals' overturned the FCC's indecency policy,
ruling that the commission was wrong to find Fox Television
in violation when a series of fleeting f-words were
said on live TV in 2002 and 2003. The judges also said
-- without prodding -- that they thought the Supreme
Court's 1978 FCC v. Pacifica Foundation case, which
provides the foundation for regulating broadcast content,
should someday be reversed.
The Hollywood Reporter warned that in light of the
court ruling, "Primetime TV this fall is going
to be chock-a-block with even more blatant sexuality
and raunchy language. It's a trend that's been a long
time coming and is now accelerating."
TVGuardian was a leader in its niche industry for years
but fell behind when high definition television grew
in popularity. Although its older models could not
filter HDTV, its newest model -- due out in August
-- can. TVGuardian also is releasing a standard definition
model for customers who do not need a high definition
filter. It now is the only product on the market that
filters television programs. It searches for foul language
in closed captioning and simultaneously "mutes" the
volume; it does not filter live programming.
Bennett said too many families have set up a "moral
double standard" in their home.
"If you invite me to your house for dinner and
you've got kids there and I start using Jesus' name
as a curse word and using all sorts of foul language,
you'll be like, 'We don't use that language in our
home.' But then people finish dinner, they walk into
the living room, and they're essentially inviting people
who speak like that into their home," he said.
The court's ruling had plenty of fans.
Michael K. Powell, who was the chairman of the Federal
Communications Commission when it found Fox in violation
of the indecency policy, wrote a column for The New
York Times applauding the decision and arguing that
the FCC's decision was a mistake. He said he had joined
the FCC's ruling against Fox "with reservations."
"It is time now for the Supreme Court to revisit
its half-century-old decision that broadcasting alone
is undeserving of full First Amendment protection," Powell
wrote, noting that the Supreme Court's opinion was
handed down in an era without cable, satellite and
the Internet. "... If the case for lesser speech
protection for broadcasting was ever sound, that case
is eviscerated today by the sheer abundance and accessibility
of other media sources, which enjoy full constitutional
protection. We cannot have one First Amendment for
broadcasting and another one for every other medium."
The Chicago Tribune's Steve Chapman called the FCC
policy "censorship," asserting that the "FCC
and its supporters seem to think Americans desperately
need government assistance to protect themselves and
their children against an onslaught of filth."
"But why?" he asked. "Since broadcasters
have an interest in not alienating their audiences,
they are bound to exercise discretion."
But that doesn't seem to be the case with this fall's
lineup, where NBC is promoting a sexually charged comedy
called "Friends With Benefits" and CBS is
advertising a comedy, "$#*! My Dad Says," that
is bound to push the envelope.
Chapman argues parents can fight back by "deploying
V-chips" that are found in all new televisions
and are intended to block programs with objectionable
content, but critics say the technology relies on a
network self-rating system that doesn't work. A 2007
Parents Television Council study of 546 hours of primetime
broadcast programming found that two-thirds of the
shows had objectionable content without the proper
warning label.
TVGuardian's Bennett said he's never considered the
V-chip a viable option.
"I can already decide to block out the whole program
by not watching it in the first place," he said. "So,
for me personally, the V-chip was not a technology
I used. I can already turn it off."
Although TVGuardian allows families to watch TV programs
and DVD movies without foul language, it does not block
all objectionable content; for instance, violence and
sexuality are seen, uncensored. There currently is
no product that skips all objectionable content on
TV as it is aired, but some families have chosen to
wait until their favorite programs come out on DVD
and watch them on a ClearPlay DVD player, which uses
downloadable "filters" to skip objectionable
scenes -- such as bloody, violent content -- and mute
foul language. The company has filters for hundreds
of movies and TV programs, including "24" and "Lost."
ClearPlay and TVGuardian both rely heavily on Internet
sales. ClearPlay is not sold in any mainstream stores,
and TVGuardian won't be either. TVGuardian was sold
in Walmart several years ago but will use a different
marketing model this time, working with ministry partners.
There also is a rental option.
"Not everybody believes in the need for this but
those that do feel very passionately about it," Bennett
said.
# # #
By Michael Foust - Michael Foust is an assistant
editor of Baptist Press. For information about TVGuardian
or ClearPlay, visit www.TVGuardian.com or www.ClearPlay.com .
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Baptist Press
Web site: www.bpnews.net