Remember, the battle for decency in TV programming will not be won by "couch potatoes." It will be won by "activists." You cannot be for morality on TV if you remain silent in the face of a growing floodtide of offensive programming. You must take responsibility!
Federal obscenity laws
Federal laws prohibit distribution of obscene programming 24-hours a day on ALL broadcast (18 USC 1464) cable and satellite (18 USC 1468) TV. Complaints about possible violations of these laws should be made to your local U.S. Attorney (for the names and addresses of all 93 US Attorneys, go to our Obscenity Enforcement page). Complaints about possible obscenity violations on broadcast TV or cable television should go to the Enforcement Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission. The Enforcement Bureau's phone number is 1-202-418-1420.
In its 1973 Miller v. California decision, the U.S. Supreme Court set forth a three-pronged test for determining whether a "work" (e.g., TV programming) is obscene and, therefore, unprotected by the First Amendment. To be obscene, a judge, jury or the FCC must determine:
- That the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest; AND
- That the work depicts or describes in a patently offensive way, as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable law; AND
- That a reasonable person would find that the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political and scientific value.
Federal indecency laws
Federal law (18 USC 1464) also prohibits "indecent" material on broadcast TV. At present, the Federal Communications Commission is enforcing this law only between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. (Note: Morality in Media wants Congress to extend the ban on broadcast indecency until 12 midnight and to prohibit indecent programming on basic cable during the same hours.)
At present, Federal law does not prohibit "indecent" material on cable or satellite TV. However, Federal law permits cable operators to prohibit indecency on leased access channels (47 USC 532), and permits franchising authorities to prohibit indecency on public access channels (47 USC 531).
Federal law (47 USC 561) also requires cable operators to scramble the signals for channels "primarily dedicated to sexually oriented programming." This scrambling law has been found unconstitutional by a Federal court. The case is being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The meaning of 'indecency'
The FCC presently defines "indecency" as:
"Language or material that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast [or cable] medium, sexual or excretory activities or organs." In upholding the broadcast indecency standard, the U.S. Supreme Court (FCC v. Pacifica, 1978) said that two attributes of broadcasting justified special treatment of indecent material. First, broadcast indecent material confronts the citizen not only in public but in the privacy of the home. Second, broadcasting is uniquely accessible to children, even those too young to read.
In Denver Area Consortium v. FCC (1996), the Supreme Court recognized that these same concerns justify regulation of indecent programming on leased and public access channels. It is time for Congress to ban indecent programming on basic cable between 6 a.m. and 12 midnight.
If I believe TV programming is indecent, what should I do?
The Federal Communications Commission is the primary Federal agency responsible for enforcing the broadcast indecency law against TV and radio stations. Complaints about broadcast indecency should be sent to:
Federal Communications Commission
Enforcement Bureau
445 12th Street SW
Washington, DC 20554
Phone 1-202-418-1420
You can also send informal complaints to the FCC via e-mail, but official complaints have to be sent on paper via the U.S. Postal Service or your preferred express delivery service.
In your complaint, make sure you have the actual call letters of the station (e.g., "WNBC-TV New York," not "News4 New York"), the name of the offending program, and the date and time it aired.
The FCC, however, will not act on an indecency complaint unless it is accompanied by a tape or written transcript of the programming. When possible, make a tape of the offending program and send it along with your complaint.
If you think the FCC is not doing its job, tell the President and your U.S. Senators and Representatives.
If programming is morally offensive but not 'indecent,' what should I do?
Much of the great TV "wasteland" consists of content that is morally offensive, but may not be legally "indecent." If not indecent, direct your complaints to advertisers, media executives and local affiliates or cable operators.
1. Advertisers
Thousands of companies advertise on TV. But the bulk of advertising time is bought by a relatively small group of leading companies. Morality in Media's handbook Stranger in the House: Reclaiming the Decency Abandoned by Today's Media, has a list of the top 100 national advertisers, with addresses, phone and fax numbers, names of key executives, and their products, along with a products list cross-referenced to the manufacturer.
If the advertiser isn't one of the top 100 advertisers, you can find the manufacturer of a product by finding the product in a local store and looking at the label. Once you know the company name, the reference librarian at your local library can help you find directories of companies, with the names, addresses, phone numbers, and other contact info you need.
You can also search on the Internet. You can use a directory like Yahoo or Snap or a search engine like HotBot or Alta Vista or Excite or Lycos or Google or Infoseek or any other you prefer.
If the company is publicly traded (i.e., if you can buy its shares on a stock exchange), the company has to file forms every year with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forms for the most recent years are on the SEC's EDGAR database. The forms most useful to you are the 10-K (annual report) and Definitive 14-K (proxy statement). These will have the names of the top executives and the directors.
Advertisers are very sensitive to consumer complaints. Complaints mean people may be rejecting their products, and complaints mean that the millions of dollars they are spending on advertising may be going down the drain. Therefore, contacting advertisers is an effective way to combat anti-social programming.
N.B. Advertisers frequently buy TV time months in advance, booking a specific time slot without knowing what programs are going to fill that slot. If you get that response, tell advertisers that they should more closely monitor the programs they sponsor and, when needed, screen individual programs prior to airing.
2. National media executives You should complain to national media executives.
3. Local affiliates and cable operators You should complain to the local broadcast stations and cable operators that carry offensive programming. You can search for the contact data on the Ultimate TV Web site.
Federal regulations (CFR Title 47, Section 73.658(e)) say that broadcast network affiliates have the right to reject network programming which they "reasonably believe to be unsatisfactory or contrary to the public interest" and to substitute a program "which, in the station's opinion, is of greater local or national importance." Don't give up!
For years, HAAD has told the Houston area, "Nearly 4 million people are not powerless to change the direction of TV. Your voice, added with that of many others, can make a difference. Change can come about when a multitude of voices, backed by the strength of our unwavering convictions, cry out "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!"