Single Group Dominates FCC Complaints

People may be aware of the FCC getting complaints about "indecency" on television or radio, but what most probably aren't aware of is the fact that nearly all of these complaints come through a single group: Parents Television Council. Should broadcast media be limited to what doesn't offend them?

Media Week explains:

The number of indecency complaints had soared dramatically to more than 240,000 in the previous year, Powell said. The figure was up from roughly 14,000 in 2002, and from fewer than 350 in each of the two previous years. There was, Powell said, “a dramatic rise in public concern and outrage about what is being broadcast into their homes.” What Powell did not reveal—apparently because he was unaware—was the source of the complaints. According to a new FCC estimate obtained by Mediaweek, nearly all indecency complaints in 2003—99.8 percent—were filed by the Parents Television Council, an activist group.

The percentage of complaints from the Parents Television Council appears to be even higher this past year.

The prominent role played by the PTC has raised concerns among critics of the FCC’s crackdown on indecency. “It means that really a tiny minority with a very focused political agenda is trying to censor American television and radio,” said Jonathan Rintels, president and executive director of the Center for Creative Voices in Media, an artists’ advocacy group. ... At issue is a process that once relied upon aggrieved listeners and viewers contacting the FCC, but that increasingly is driven by organized groups with a focus on programming content. The FCC does not monitor programming for fear of assuming a role as national censor; it relies on complaints to initiate its indecency proceedings.

Because FCC actions depend entirely upon the presence of people complaining, it does matter when a single groups is responsible for most of the complaints. They will, necessarily, be responsible for most of the FCC monitoring, checking, and ultimately acting. That's exactly why the PTC was created:

The PTC has worked hard to achieve its influence over broadcast content. Founded in 1995 by longtime conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III, it set out to make an impact in 2003, including what it called “a massive, coordinated and determined campaign” for more action by the FCC against broadcast indecency. “We delivered on that promise,” Bozell said in the group’s annual report.

People should care when an activist group uses government policies in a manner not intended or predicted when those policies were created.

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