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 NEWS  News  media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  TTY  202  /  418-  2  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974). 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE:  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT: 
 December  20,  2001  Susanna  Zwerling  at  (202)  418-  2000 


 STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  MICHAEL  J.  COPPS  ON  THE  BROADCAST  OF  LIQUOR  ADVERTISING 


 A  race  to  the  bottom  is  never  pretty  to  watch,  whether  it’s  a  network  saying  that  it  has  to 
 show  liquor  ads  in  prime  time  because  they  are  running  on  cable,  or  whether  it’s  a  network  pushing 
 the  limits  on  indecency  because  it  says  it  has  to  compete  against  prurient  shows  on  another  network. 
 Apart  from  the  question  of  whether  these  ads  are  or  are  not  a  matter  for  regulation,  this  is  most 
 certainly  an  area  where  we  could  use  some  sense  of  social  responsibility,  some  understanding  of 
 what  is  being  foisted  on  our  children,  and  some  vision  to  reach  for  the  stars  instead  of  plumbing  the 
 depths. 


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