Smith on Indecency

Likening it to the fee paid for grazing cattle on public lands, National Association of Broadcasters President Gordon Smith said Tuesday that hewing to community standards on content was one of the prices broadcasters pay for their spectrum. Asked if that meant he thought broadcasters have to be subject to FCC indecency rules as part of that price, he said broadcasters "needed to be sensitive to it. I think with some exceptions we are trying to be." But he also said the emphasis should be on technology, "so we can balance the First Amendment with the need to be competitive and the need to empower parents and shield children from things that they ought not to see." Smith said he valued and believed in the First Amendment, but said he understood the challenge of competing with subscription services that can "push the envelope all [they] want." But he also said he represented a lot of cattlemen, who know that they are going to pay a fee if they are going to graze their cattle on public land. "The fee that we pay is localism, engaging the community and observing community standards."