WASHINGTON (AP) – A communications regulator accused his agency Thursday of ignoring complaints about indecent programming in the year since two disc jockeys broadcast an account of a couple allegedly having sex in New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
The encounter in the landmark Manhattan church was described on Aug. 15, 2002, during the “Opie and Anthony” show, which was the afternoon drive-time program at New York’s WNEW-FM. The nationally syndicated show was canceled a week later.
After the broadcast, the Federal Communications Commission was flooded with complaints about the show. The agency’s chairman, Michael Powell, directed the commission’s enforcement bureau to investigate.
“Nothing has changed over the past year in the FCC’s enforcement of the indecency laws,” Commissioner Michael Copps said in a statement. “When we allow complaints to languish for a year, the message is loud and clear that the FCC is not serious about enforcing our nation’s laws.”
Copps, one of two Democrats on the five-member commission, has pushed for harsher penalties against radio and television stations that violate indecency laws.
FCC spokesman David Fiske had no immediate comment.
A senior FCC official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a draft decision on the investigation would be delivered to the commissioners next week.
If the FCC finds that a station violated federal indecency laws, the penalty typically involves a fine ranging from $5,000 to $30,000.
Copps said a decision pushed through by the FCC’s three Republicans on June 2 that eased decades-old media ownership rules will lead to more indecency on the airwaves.
“As media conglomerates grow ever bigger and control moves further away from the local community, community standards go by the boards,” he said.
In the New York case, the radio station, owned by Infinity Broadcasting, pulled the two men off the air three days after the stunt was aired.
The Opie and Anthony show was nationally syndicated in 17 markets outside New York City, including Cleveland, Dallas, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Washington.
—
On the Net:
Federal Communications Commission: http://www.fcc.gov
AP-ES-08-07-03 1902EDT
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.