Bloomberg BNA reports that Supreme Court justices this week are considering whether the government should continue to regulate cursing and nudity on broadcast television. After reading both sides of the argument, here is how I feel about regulation on broadcast television.
My major issue is that I believe the FCC has very inconsistent rules in place, especially when it comes to nudity and language. I do think that there should be continued regulation on television, especially during times of the day when children might be watching, but it needs to be consistent. I have watched television shows where there has been a lot of nudity, such as on crime drama shows, and sometimes it goes a little too far. The current system in place leaves a lot of room for error, with graphic sexual scenes on shows like “NYPD Blue” but yet, some television shows are not even allowed to say a minor curse word. I feel that there needs to be strict rules about what should be allowed and should not be allowed, concerning nudity and language. If the rule says there is no frontal nudity allowed, then that should go for all stations and television shows, not just a few here and there.
Although I do not have children and do not intend to, I feel that television shows should still keep certain words and images off of the screen for the benefit of children. It is really on the parent to monitor what children watch, but some shows that should not have graphic language and images still do. With the rules how they are now, there is just too much inconsistency in television, and sometimes a parent does not even expect there to be nudity or language. I think that if the FCC just let the shows do what they want because television is becoming extinct, that there would be a lot more language and nudity going on, which would severely cripple a lot of family-friendly programming. If there were clear rules about what images or language is allowed, then I think it would help cut down on the amount of unfairness going on in television, which can help parents decide what shows are appropriate for children.
Myself, Personal Opinion
Tom P. Taylor, “Supreme Court Debates TV Indecency”, Bloomberg BNA