HOUSTON, TX -- The Federal Communications Commission has launched an investigation into the controversial Super Bowl halftime show, in which Justin Timberlak tore loose the clothing over Janet Jackson's right breast during the closing seconds of the show. The halftime event, produced by MTV, was edgy for a G audience even without the breast exposure incident, featuring crotch grabbing and suggestive dance moves.

"The whole performance was onstage copulation," said FCC Chairman Michael Powell, who is investigating the entire halftime show, not just the boob flashing.

If indecency violations are found, each of CBS parent corporation Viacom's 200 owned and affiliate stations could face a penalty of up to $27,500. FCC officials said the agency might also pursue penalties against the individual performers.

In the meantime, a chilling effect has been felt in parts of the broadcast industry. The NFL yanked a halftime performance at this weekend's Pro Bowl by JC Chasez, one of Justin Timberlake's fellow 'N Sync group members. And NBC has ordered the removal of a breast shot (featuring an 80-year-old patient) from a new episode of ER.

Free Speech Coalition Executive Director Kat Sunlove has been contacted since the Super Bowl by numerous media representatives who seemed to be expecting that the adult entertainment trade association would be supportive of Jackson's stunt.

However, in a press release Sunlove said the entire half-time performance had distinctly sexual overtones and was therefore inappropriate for a family show such as the Super Bowl.

"We see it as a matter of giving parents adequate and timely warning that such adult-oriented material is coming up," said Sunlove. "For example, people and parents know what children will see if they let them watch "Sex in the City", or programs labeled as having adult themes. That is obviously not the case with the Super Bowl, which is expected to be family fare, a G rating, not PG-13."

"It is significant that this show was produced by MTV, not by any adult entertainment group," Sunlove said. "The adult entertainment industry promotes the production of consensual sexual material performed by adults and presented only to adults. The industry would never have offered such titillating fare for a family show. There is a time and a place for adult entertainment and the Super Bowl is not it."

Lips were Buttoned about the banning of Janet Jackson at the Grammy Awards a week later. Prince, formerly known as a bad boy of the music industry, did not say a word against it. Even Justin Timberlake, who was the man who bared Ms. Jackson's breast during the infamous Super Bowl halftime show, did not mention her when he accepted his award for best pop male vocalist.

"I know it's been a rough week on everybody, and, um, what occurred was unintentional, completely regrettable," Mr. Timberlake said sheepishly, "and I apologize if you guys were offended." His apology, it turned out, had been demanded by CBS. "Ms. Jackson and Mr. Timberlake were invited to participate in the show as long as they agreed to apologize on the air for what happened during our network's broadcast of the `Super Bowl Halftime Show,' " a CBS statement last night explained. "Ms. Jackson declined the invitation. Mr. Timberlake accepted."

One may deplore Ms. Jackson's taste in halftime attire, but she showed surprising gumption in turning down CBS. Mr. Timberlake did not. His was a surprisingly tame performance for a former Mouseketeer who has been seeking to add an edgier, outlaw image.

Backstage there were a few murmurs in Ms. Jackson's favor. But in front of the CBS cameras, there was no sign of pity or snickering for Ms. Jackson from her peers, even though many of them have known similar moments of backfiring publicity or career-crushing missteps. Instead her colleagues ignored her as if her disgrace were contagious.

Indecency Laws Examined in Wake of Halftime Show

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 - The widespread criticism of a Super Bowl halftime show on CBS that featured one singer grabbing his crotch and another baring her breast reached the Capitol on Wednesday as lawmakers gathered support for measures that would strengthen laws against indecency on television.

Executives from Viacom, the company that owns CBS and MTV, which produced the halftime show, and from the National Football League testified before the House subcommittee on telecommunications and the Internet. They apologized for performances that lawmakers said demonstrated how loose standards had become.

The subcommittee, as well as the Senate Commerce Committee, also heard from the five commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission, who generally agreed that greater powers and stiffer fines would prompt media companies to prevent the broadcast of words and actions considered indecent.

The House is considering a measure that would increase tenfold, to $275,000, the maximum fine the F.C.C. could levy against a station or network. The Senate committee has already approved increases in fines and a measure that would require a license revocation hearing upon the finding of indecency. For now, a hearing is held at the discretion of the commission, although no license has ever been revoked as a result of an indecent act on television or radio.

excerpted from:
From Manuel Mendoza,
The Dallas Morning News, 2/5/04 http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/
dws/dn/latestnews/stories/020504dnovejanet.bee3a.html
And from Michael C. Dorf, FindLaw, 2/4/04
And from By Alessandra Stanley in the N.Y. Times, 2-9-2004
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/09/arts/television/09WATC.html
Indecency Laws Examined in Wake
of Halftime Show
By Michael Janofsky
Nl.Y.Times, Feb. 12, 2004

As reported in Free Speech X-Press
Vol. VI, No. 12, February 6, 2004
A Member Service of the Free Speech Coalition,
researched and edited by Kat Sunlove and Layne Winklebleck.