This really pisses me off. What a waste of resources. I tried to get the whole article, but don't have a subscription to the Wallstreet Journal.
FCC Seeks To Fine ABC $1.4M For Indecent "NYPD Blue" Episode
Wall Street Journal | AMY SCHATZ | January 26, 2008 11:25 AM
After a brief lull, the Federal Communications Commission recommenced its battle against provocative television shows late Friday, proposing a $1.43 million fine against the ABC and its affiliates for a February 2003 episode of "NYPD Blue."
The agency proposed the highest fine possible for the broadcast, which briefly showed the side and back of a naked woman getting into a shower.
"Although ABC argues, without citing any authority, that the buttocks are not a sexual organ, we reject this argument, which runs counter to both case law and common sense," the FCC said in its complaint.
Some 52 ABC stations in the Central Standard Time and Mountain Standard Time zones were assessed a $27,500 fine for broadcasting the show. ABC's East and West coast affiliates were not charged fines because they aired the broadcast at 10 p.m., which falls outside the 6 a.m to 10 p.m. period in which the FCC can fine stations for broadcasting nudity, overly suggestive scenes and obscene words.
Although almost five years in the making, the FCC fine is notable for its size and because it could signal the beginning of a new round of indecency fines that may soon emanate from the agency. Complaints have been piling up at the FCC in recent years, as the agency has paused from issuing new fines while defending previous decisions in federal appeals courts.
Read more here
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/26/f...-1_n_83377.html