Broadcast Content Gets Hammered on Floor

BROADCAST CONTENT GETS HAMMERED ON FLOOR
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The House began consideration of S.193, the Senate-passed bill upping FCC indecency fines to $325,000 per violation. There was just 15 minutes of consideration of the bill before a vote was called and the formality of passage is expected today. Rep Diane Watson (D-CA) rose in opposition to the bill. She argued that the root cause of indecent programming is media consolidation and a lack of competition, and that the solution is less consolidation and more public-interest requirements for media companies. Taking issue with the business of broadcasting, she said that a "consolidated media market controlled by a profit-driven conglomerate is bound to offer cheaply made, shocking entertainment for the sake of increasing viewership and making a spectacle of itself." She suggested the FCC consider the connection between consolidation and content when it starts to review ownership rules later this month, and put in a plug for reinstituting the fairness doctrine.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6341598?display=Breaking+News

* House Moves to Boost Indecency Fines
http://www.dailycomet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060606/APE/606060727