'Fleeting' Profanities: OK for Now?

'FLEETING' PROFANITIES: OK FOR NOW?
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The FCC is not likely to issue any indecency fines or findings for “fleeting profanities” for the next six months, but broadcasters have no clearer guidance on what they can and can't say. That's after a federal court last week granted its request to take a second look at four profanity rulings it made last March. The court also stayed enforcement of those decisions, which carry no penalty, until the case can be resolved. That probably won't be until spring, says one lawyer familiar with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The case could be decided by February if the court hustles, he says. Oral argument can start no sooner than Dec. 11 on the merits of the case, and that argument could hinge on what the FCC decides to do. The Commission could provide better explanations of its decision, or modify or rescind any or all of it. The FCC read the stay as a narrow one, applying only to the four decisions at issue, and tried to send the message that broadcasters shouldn't take it as an opportunity to swear on-air with impunity.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6370150.html?display=News

PROFANITY CONCERNS PROMPT CBS TO SHOW "9/11" ON WEB
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jeremy Pelofsky]
CBS Corp. said on Saturday it would broadcast the documentary "9/11" on the Internet as well as the airwaves after several affiliates said they would delay or forgo the award-winning film because it includes profanity. CBS said affiliates that cover about 10 percent of the United States had decided not broadcast the program or would show it late at night, citing concerns they could be fined for airing profanity, primarily by firefighters during the crisis, before 10 p.m. The American Family Association, which describes itself as a Christian organization promoting traditional values, has called on CBS stations to forgo or delay the "9/11" broadcast.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2006-09-10T082534Z_01_N09438621_RTRUKOC_0_US-SEPT11-CBS.xml