US radio indecency fines bumped up tenfold

U.S. President George W. Bush has signed into law legislation that raises fines tenfold for radio and television broadcasters who violate US decency standards by airing extensive profanity or sexual content.

While the President said that parents are the first line of defense for monitoring what their children listen to and watch, he added that broadcasters have a responsibility as well.

Bush said at a signing ceremony with lawmakers who sponsored the bill and the five FCC commissioners: “This law will ensure that broadcasters take seriously their duty to keep the public airwaves free of obscene, profane and indecent material.”

He said the old maximum fine was a problem because “for some broadcasters, this amount is meaningless.”

Previously the fine was set at US$32,550. The new law boosts fines to as much as $325,000 per violation.

It could help congressional Republicans woo conservatives in a tough election year as they have faced ebbing support from key core constituencies.

Also in the audience at the signing ceremony was Brent Bozell whose Parents Television Council has pushed the FCC to crack down on broadcasters. Members of his organization have flooded the agency with form e-mails complaining about television shows.

In a statement Bozell said: “We hope that the hefty fines will cause the multibillion dollar broadcast networks finally to take the law seriously.”

The drive for higher fines came when pop singer Justin Timberlake ripped off part of Janet Jackson’s costume and briefly exposed her breast during the 2004 Super Bowl football halftime entertainment show, which aired on the CBS television network, although what that has to do with radio nobody knows.