Verified Document

Oyez FCC V. FOX Television Stations Case Research Paper

Oyez FCC v. FOX TELEVISION STATIONS

Case Basics

Docket No.

Petitioner

Federal Communications Commission, et al.

Respondent

Fox Television Stations, Inc., et al.

Granted

Monday, June 27, 2011 Term: 2010-20192011

Location: 40.714353, -74.005973

Facts of the Case

In 2004, the FCC said that TV stations were permitted to be fined for indecency violations in cases when a vulgarity was broadcast during a live program. That happened on Fox in 2002 and 2003 when Cher and Nicole Richie cursed during award shows and were not bleeped. The FCC never actually fined Fox, but the network took issue with the regulatory agency setting the stage for future fines and challenged the fleeting-expletive rules. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that the FCC's rules were "unconstitutionally vague" and had a "chilling effect."

BlueBook Citation:

Chicago.FCC v. FOX TELEVISION STATIONS. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 10 November 2011.

Question

Does the current indecency enforcement regime violate either the First or Fifth Amendments?

The 3 member panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit invalidated the policy regulating indecency of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) policy regulating indecency. This ruling prevents the agency from enforcing the prohibition on indecent speech in television broadcast media. There are numerous stakeholder's interests at stake which include the First and Amendment rights of broadcasters and the public, the interests of children and parents and also the Government in its legal role in protecting those interests....

Additionally, the FCC has since begun imposing huge fines against broadcasters. These jeopardize the ability of many small broadcasters to keep in business (Levin, 2010, 558).
The Second Circuit ruled that the indecency policy that the FCC violated the First and Fifth Amendments because the policy was unconstitutionally vague and impermissibly stifled protected speech. This ruling, along with the underlying reasoning puts in question the entire mission of the FCC in eliminating indecent broadcasts while adolescents are likely to be watching. This was done by suggesting that the FCC desired approach could inherently violate the vagueness doctrine as applied in the First Amendment. Specifically, the First and Fifth Amendments require that federal government restrictions on speech be sufficiently delineated to allow the regulated community fair opportunity to conform its to the law (Lloyd, 2007, 21-22).

While this might have made sense in the past, present technology has rendered this reasoning obsolete. This was based on the 1978 case of FCC v. Pacifica Foundation. Here the Supreme Court held that over-the-air broadcast media was like an "unwanted intruder" in the home. This made it uniquely accessible to children, therefore the FCC has a definitive role in maintaining cleanliness in the transmissions. Due to these unique characteristics, the FCC's regulation of such broadcast media was held to a lesser constitutional standard than other traditional types of media. The ruling was based largely based on the simpler technology of the time where there were three channels, little cable, no VCRs, no World Wide Web, no DVDs and no satellite TV. Since, the FCC has regulated such broadcasts under that lower constitutional standard. This includes the fining of stations for…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Barron, J.A. (2011). Fcc v. fox television stations and the fcc's new fleeting expletive policy. Federal Communications Law Journal, 62, 567-586.

Hunt, K. (2007). Fcc complaint process and increasing public unease: Toward an apolitical broadcast indecency regime,. Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review, 223-243.

Levin, R.M. (2010). Hard look review, policy change, and fox television. University of Miami Law

Review, 65(555), 555-576.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Reality Television
Words: 1961 Length: 5 Document Type: Research Paper

Reality Television Television: the ever evolving medium: Television's growth as an edutainment medium has been phenomenal. In societies that are more developed, TV adores the living room of almost every household. TV viewing has been the leading recreational activity for majority of population with U.S. household reported to be glued to their TV sets for almost seven hours daily on an average. Even though TV ownership in Asia and Latin America are

Reality Television
Words: 593 Length: 2 Document Type: Term Paper

Reality TV Disclosure and familiarity between the audience and program in reality TV With the prevalence of reality television programming, mass media has become more intrusive and real to the audience: what with the inclusion of so-called 'ordinary people,' audiences have become more acquainted with the rudiments of TV program creation and dynamics. Indeed, the most appealing quality of reality TV programs is that audiences are able to realize the possibility that

Reality Television It Is Futile
Words: 1259 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Then, a fourth reason is that reality shows can sometimes reveal situations of success, which in turn inspire and motivate the audiences to change their lives for the better. Examples of such shows include Dr. 90210, in which plastic surgeons operate on patients, change their appearance and as such increase their self-esteem, or the several shows revealing people fighting, and beating, obesity (Goodman). These types of reality shows set the

Reality Television, Though Often Deliberately
Words: 648 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Individuals watching these types of rejections receive guilty pleasure from something they feel that they shouldn't be watching (Reality television). Also, relating to characters on reality shows helps people to feel better about their own lives and problems (DeWall, 2009). Yes, according to another survey, the ongoing popularity of reality television is due to these shows, unlike other shows such as news programs or sitcoms, allowing the viewers to imagine

Reality TV Reality Television Shows
Words: 348 Length: 1 Document Type: Term Paper

Some shows are more palatable than others. The contest shows such as "America's Top Model," or "American Idol" are in general less about interpersonal problems and more about the competition. However, shows like "Nanny 911" or the various wife-swapping shows depict so much screaming and shouting that they fail to be enjoyable to watch. "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" include a lot of bickering and most likely the editors of

Reality Television Programs Have Been
Words: 1160 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

It is true that reality television programs have effectively grabbed the public, including the kids attentions. While interest groups do not believe that violence and sex in television programs have any effect on the public, especially kids, the research has shown that the programming contents are highly effective in influencing the behavior of kids. For example, in watching Springer show, many children think that shouting, disrespecting, abusing is common, and

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now