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 COMMISSIONER  MICHAEL  J.  COPPS,  SUMMARY  OF  TESTIMONY 
 Wednesday,  February  11,  2004 
 I  appreciate  the  attention  you  have  devoted  to  the  issue  of  sex  and  violence  on  the  airwaves.  People  all  across  this  land  of  ours  are  demanding  action  --  action  now  --  to  stop  the 
 increasing  sex  and  violence  bombarding  their  airwaves. 
 Certainly  there  have  been  a  couple  of  high  profile  incidents,  none  more  so  than  last  week’s  shameful  half-  time  display  at  the  Super  Bowl.  But  the  real  test  for  the  FCC  is  how  the 
 Commission  addresses  the  thousands  of  other  complaints  pertaining  to  hundreds  of  other  programs.  And  so  far,  we  are  failing  the  test. 


 At  the  same  time  that  we  are  not  adequately  enforcing  indecency  laws,  the  Commission  is  dismantling  media  concentration  rules  without  considering  whether  there  is  a  link  between 
 increasing  media  consolidation  and  increasing  indecency.  It  makes  intuitive  sense  that  as  media  conglomerates  grow  ever  bigger  and  control  moves  further  away  from  the  local  community, 
 community  standards  go  by  the  boards. 
 To  tackle  the  problem  of  sex  and  violence  on  our  airwaves,  I  am  all  for  additional  authority  from  Congress,  but  let  us  use  the  arrows  we  already  hold  in  our  quiver.  Accordingly,  I 
 am  asking  my  colleagues  to  take  the  following  five  concrete  steps. 


 1.  Use  Our  Full  Authority  to  Punish  Transgressors  –  License  Revocation,  License  Non-Renewal  and  Higher  Fines:  We  need  to  send  some  of  the  more  outrageous  transgressions 
 and  repeat  offenders  to  license  revocation  hearings.  The  Commission  has  never  used  this  authority.  We  need  to  impose  meaningful  fines  for  each  utterance,  rather  than  “cost  of  doing 
 business  fines.”  We  need  to  establish  an  effective  license  renewal  process  that  meets  our  responsibility  not  to  renew  the  licenses  of  those  who  air  excessive  amounts  of  indecent  and 
 violent  programming. 
 2.  Reform  the  Complaint  Process:  The  Commission  should  commit  to  addressing  all  complaints  within  a  specific  timeframe  such  as  90  days.  The  FCC  should  recognize  it  is  the 


 Commission’s  responsibility  to  investigate  complaints  that  the  law  has  been  violated,  not  the  citizen’s  responsibility  to  prove  the  violations.  And  Commissioners  themselves,  rather  than 
 the  Bureau,  should  be  making  the  decisions. 
 3.  Tackle  Graphic  Violence:  Compelling  arguments  have  been  made  that  excessive  violence  is  every  bit  as  indecent  as  anything  else  that’s  broadcast. 


 4.  Convene  an  Industry  Summit  that  includes  Cable  and  DBS:  Industry  should  step  up  to  the  plate  to  tackle  the  issues  of  indecent  and  violent  programming.  This  summit  must  include 
 cable  and  satellite  providers.  Perhaps  cable  could  explore  such  options  as  offering  a  family  tier.  Cable  could  also  make  sure  that  family  channels  offer  all  family-  friendly  programming. 
 And  broadcasters  could  commit  to  family  hours  during  prime  time. 
 5.  Affirm  the  Rights  of  Local  Broadcasters  to  Control  Their  Programming:  In  2001,  local  broadcasters  filed  a  petition  alleging  that  networks  are  hindering  affiliates’  ability  to  refuse  to 
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 broadcast  network  programming  that  is  not  suitable  for  their  communities.  Yet,  this  petition  has  sat  unaddressed  for  over  two  years.  The  Commission  should  issue  its  decision  promptly. 
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