Indecency, And The Dance

Why is it that people prefer to dance around the real issue rather than face a problem head on. Yes, it's harder to be honest sometimes, but it's also faster.

I've got a friend who is having trouble with her parents. She got a tattoo of a caterpillar on her foot, and her mother went absolutely berserk over it. Her mother doesn't approve of tattoos. Never-mind that I'm talking about a grown woman here who hasn't lived with her parents in a decade. Now the two women are trading long winded emails back and forth for weeks debating whether or not one respects the other - but they're never actually discussing the real issue at hand. The REAL issue is that the mother recently became an empty nester, and she's sad.

The current indecency debate in the media is the same. The real issue is challenging, so we choose to dance around it instead.

The government is bad!
Howard is bad!
Censorship is BAD!
BUBBA'S gotta GO!

None of that has anything to do with the real issue here. The real issue here is a weakened FCC. We have no standards to go by, and no reasonable expectation of repercussions for when we go over the line. Do we really have to go so far as having our listeners fuck in cathedrals for an on-air bit before the FCC even notices? That's downright crazy.

A lack of standards has pushed too many broadcasters over the edge for shock value. That's why I have to watch Dennis Franz's ass on NYPD Blue - as if it was THAT important to the story. It's the same reason the word "Bullshit" is used at least once per episode.

I do believe we need a different set of standards for media broadcast over the public airwaves verses subscription services such as cable or satellite. If a consumer doesn't like the standards cable broadcasters uphold, then don't subscribe to cable. But the airwaves are not owned by us, so we need to uphold a higher standard.

That being said - I believe that we HAVE been upholding that standard for the most part.

I don't believe that CBS went over the line with their Superbowl Halftime show. I think CBS screwed up when they decided to broadcast a live event such as that with absolutely no delay, and thus, no ability to protect themselves or their affiliates - not to mention viewers. Janet Jackson's right breast was the least of what should have been their worries really. I think CBS got off easy. What if an artist decided to make a political stand out of the event? How about a nice "Fuck You Dubya." CBS would have said "wow, we didn't see that coming." Well why the hell not? Ever heard of a man named Michael Moore? Why pot it down after the fact when we've got the technology to prevent it in the first place?

You may ask yourself: What artist in his or her right mind would risk their career? Well let's see... Janet Jackson's brother is nothing but bad press, and she's growing old. Could her career use a little 'exposure'? Methinks the answer is yes.

But it's easier to scapegoat. It's easier to blame the tattoo rather than face the difficult subject of aging. It's easier to blame broadcasters rather than have the real debate that we so badly need to have regarding what IS acceptable, and what ISN'T... and what will the repercussions actually BE when a broadcaster fails to uphold minimum standards? And then broadcasters need to hold the FCC's feet to the fire when THEY fail to enforce their own rules.

For the most part, broadcasters are a damn fine group of individuals. Give them the rules and they will play by them. They will do a better job of serving the public than will be required because earning listeners' hearts and minds also earns their time, which is traded to advertisers for a hell of a lot of money. But don't blame broadcasters for not playing by rules they were never given.