The Why of The Decision…

It’s not often that the courts toss out FCC rulings.  The last time this happened was - never.  That all changed with yesterday’s possible precedent-setting ruling by the Third Circuit Court  which overturned the FCC’s indecency fine of CBS, imposed for the Janet Jackson wardrobe “malfunction” at a halftime performance at Super Bowl XXXVIII 4 1/2 years ago…

First, it’s important to know why the fine was overturned.  The court said the following, “(The FCC) acted arbitrarily and capriciously” in issuing the fine for the fleeting image of nudity.  (Janet’s Ta-Ta was exposed for a whole nine-sixteenths of a second.)  And here’s the real “why” - the court found that the FCC deviated from its nearly 30-year practice of fining indecent broadcast programming only when it was so “pervasive as to amount to ’shock treatment’ for the audience.”  That explanation courtesy of Chief Judge Joseph Scirica.   The judge went on to add, “like any agency, the FCC may change its policies without judicial second-guessing but it cannot change a well-established course of action without supplying notice of and a reasoned explanation for its policy departure.“  End of story…

I was at that Super Bowl game, sitting 50 yards away from the incident.  This was the crowd reaction to the “malfunction” -     , as in zip, zilch, nada and nothing - not even a murmur.  Half the crowd had headed for the restrooms but I decided to let the crowd go first before making the trip.  I saw that “malfunction” and figured that it was part of the act.  So did the rest of the crowd.  The overturning of the fine was the correct decision.  The FCC imposed the $550,000 fine on CBS because of the public furor that was fanned by the media.  End of story…        

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1916] They forgot the “un“: During a Preparedness Day  parade in San Francisco, a bomb goes off killing 10…
2. 1931] O Solo Mio: American aviator Wiley Post  completes the first solo flight around the world in 7 days, 18 1/2 hours…
3. 1934] Dillinger down: A man identified as bank robber John Dillinger  is shot to death by federal agents in Chicago.  Dillinger was just 31…
4. 1963] A Sonny day: Sonny Liston defends his heavyweight crown with a KO of Floyd Patterson(for the second time) in one round. The fight in Las Vegas was a rematch of a 1962 fight seen here…
5. 1981] Justice served: Turkish extremist Mehmet Ali Agca  is sentenced in Rome to life in prison for shooting Pope John Paul II…
6. 1991] He’s busted - we’re disgusted: Milwaukee police arrest Jeffrey Dahmer after finding the remains of 11 victims in his apartment. Dahmer confesses to 17 murders and is sentenced to life in prison…
7. 1994] Guilty as charged: O.J. Simpson pleads innocent to the murders of his wife Nicole and her friend Ronald Goldman…1995] Susan Smith  is convicted by a jury in Union (SC) of 1st-degree murder for drowning her 2 sons…
8. 2003] Welcome back: Months after her P.O.W. ordeal, Pvt. 1st Class Jessica Lynch returns home to a hero’s welcome in Elizabeth (WV)…
9. 2003] Saddam’s sons: Saddam Hussein’s sons Odai and Qusai are killed by U.S. forces when they storm their villa in Mosul, Iraq…
10. 2004] Grave report: The Sept. 11 commission issues a report saying America’s leaders failed to grasp the gravity of terrorist threats before 911…

Music Memories:

• 1967] Debuted on this date: Vanilla Fudge debuts in New York City.  I guarantee you they did this song…
• 1977] Curtains: Tony Orlando surprises everyone, including Dawn, when he announces on stage in Cohasset (MA) that he is retiring from performing.  Here’s Tony & Dawn in their hit-filled days…
• 1979] It’s evil - oooooooo: The Reverend Richard Penniman a.k.a. Little Richard warns his North Richmond (CA) congregation against the evils of rock and roll.  Here’s Alan Freed  introducing Little Richard when he was rockin’…

Commentary:

WRKS (Kiss) will scream bloody-murder if they don’t repeat as New York’s number-one rated Arbitron station when diaries are replaced by PPM’s this fall.  WRKS pulled a 4.9 to finish number one in the spring Arbitron but ethnic stations haven’t fared well when measured by Portable People Meters.  Other winners in New York were all-news WINS (6.7) which pulled the number one share in morning drive, WHTZ (Z100), number one in 18 to 34s and not only did Kiss finish number one overall (12+) but they also won the highly coveted 25-54 demographic…

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday”:

David Spade (44), Albert Brooks (61), Don Henley (61), Danny Glover (61), Estelle(Ronettes) Bennett (64), Bobby Sherman (65), Ron Turcotte (67),Alex Trebek (68), Chuck Jackson (71), Louise Fletcher (74), Oscar de la Renta (76), Orson Bean (80), Margaret Whiting (84) and Bob Dole (85)…

Timeline Countdown: 5 days until MLB HOF induction, 5 days until all NFL training camps will be open, 11 days until NFL HOF induction and 17 days until the Summer Olympics…

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July, 22, 2008 at 08: 10:10 p07 and is filed under Today's Post. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.