FCC ISN'T ENFORCING ‘CLEAR LAW’ ON INDECENCY—TRISTANI
Whether it’s “the new [Powell] Commission or prior Commissions,” provisions of Communications Act banning broadcast indecency aren’t being enforced, Comr. Tristani charged. “We have a very clear law” on indecency, she told us in explaining her recent statements objecting to several Enforcement Bureau actions dismissing indecency complaints (CD March 1 p9). Law already has been upheld many times by courts, so there’s no First Amendment issue or need for congressional action, she said in interview: “This is about protecting our children.”
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
Asked what she would have Bureau do differently, Tristani said: “I would make sure that every complaint we receive… wasn’t prejudged [by Bureau] as to whether these cases were indecent or not… One thing I ought to make clear. I'm looking at every letter” Bureau sends out dismissing complaints -- many of which never become public. As for commissioners, “we receive [indecency] complaints in our e-mail all the time” that she doesn’t send on to Bureau “unless they are very specific… I'm not concerned about giving the Bureau additional things to do. I'm more concerned about what they're supposed to be doing and not doing properly.”
When asked, she said Bureau on its own shouldn’t be in field seeking indecency violations and taping programs: “No, I don’t think so. I don’t think that’s the proper role of government.” Asked for reaction to Tristani’s statements, official of Enforcement Bureau responded: “Officially, no comment.”
Another area where Tristani disagrees with staff actions is last week’s approval of 32 radio station transfers by Mass Media Bureau (CD March 13 p1) -- action highly praised by Chmn. Powell for breaking backlog. “Certainly, many of them should have been designated for hearing” under public interest mandate, Tristani told us. She said Commission needed “clear guidelines” on when such applications should be approved but she wouldn’t propose any before leaving FCC because “I hear what my colleagues are saying and I can guess what my future colleagues'” positions will be in Republican Administration. What’s being lost in industry consolidation, she said, is diversity in ownership and voices.
On petition by ABC, NBC and CBS affiliates asking FCC to open inquiry into TV network practices (CD March 9 p2), she said it was “very interesting… I hope the Commission gives it the attention it deserves.” She declined to discuss merits of affiliates’ charges, saying “it’s one of those proceedings that may or may not be restricted” on ex parte contacts.
Tristani said “I'm still undecided” about when to resign from FCC to return to her native N.M. to seek elected office, but “it'll be sometime toward the end of the year… It was a very difficult decision” not to run for House seat last year, she said, and she didn’t because Clinton Administration asked her to remain at FCC until after Nov. election. Asked whether it was then-Vice President Gore who personally asked her to stay at FCC, she said: “I'll just say it was the Administration.”
A Democrat, Tristani said she was considering running for governor, House or Senate but “right now, I'm focusing on the Senate.” Sen. Domenici (R), now in his 5th term, is up for reelection in 2002 -- as is Republican Gov. Gary Johnson, who isn’t eligible to seek reelection because of term limits.