Tuned In+Uncategorized | 492 days ago

Good News for Kabletown: U.S. OK's Comcast-NBC Merger

By James Poniewozik

Comcast has federal approval to combine with NBC, after the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department both approved the deal this afternoon. Besides providing clarity for 30 Rock storylines going forward, the decision makes possible the first acquisition of a major broadcast network by a cable company. (TIME’s parent, Time Warner, owned a cable company and broadcast and cable properties before it spun off Time Warner Cable.)

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Tuned In+Uncategorized | 658 days ago

TCA Roundup: Ken Burns Takes Another Swing

By James Poniewozik

It was PBS Day yesterday at the Television Critics Association Press Tour, and you know what that means: drugs, swearing and cattiness! By which, of course, I mean: steroids in baseball, a respectful discussion of FCC policy and The Cat in the Hat. The too-hot-for-TV highlights follow: * Ken Burns gave a presentation for The [...]

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Tuned In+Uncategorized | 680 days ago

Court to FCC: Clean Up Your Act on Dirty-Word Rules

By James Poniewozik

A federal appeals court yesterday struck down FCC regulations over “fleeting expletives” on the airwaves, ruling that the commission’s definition of “indecency” was so vague as to create an unconstitutional “chilling effect” on speech. But the ruling is subject to appeal to the Supreme Court, meaning that the victory for the networks may be fleeting [...]

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Tuned In+Uncategorized | 778 days ago

Net Neutrality's Strange Bedfellows

By James Poniewozik

God help me, I think I actually agree with the Parents Television Council on an issue involving the FCC. Regular readers of this blog know that I’ve rarely seen eye-to-eye with the “broadcast decency” advocacy group, which has (among other things) spearheaded efforts to police the content of primetime TV. The reason: I’m all for [...]

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Tuned In+Uncategorized | 967 days ago

SYTYCD Upskirt Scandal: News Flash or Non-Flash?

By James Poniewozik

So last night on So You Think You Can Dance, an aspiring contestant reacted to some good news by rolling on the floor in her short skirt, exposing her bare crotch to primetime America and inviting the wrath of the FCC. Unless she didn’t. After the video and stills were posted online, SYTYCD producer Nigel [...]

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Tuned In+Uncategorized | 970 days ago

Jenny Slate's SN F-in' L Debut

By James Poniewozik

New Saturday Night Live cast member Jenny Slate made a splash in her debut on last night’s SNL premiere, letting slip the above F-bomb in a skit with Kristen Wiig. Could it have been a publicity stunt? One never knows, though her facial reaction suggests it was an old-fashioned you-know-what-up. (With which I can sympathize. [...]

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Tuned In+Uncategorized | 1122 days ago

FCC Wins, Somewhat, on Decency Fines

By James Poniewozik

In a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Federal Communications Commission in its lawsuit with Fox network over the FCC’s ability to fine broadcasters over the use of “fleeting” expletives.  I haven’t reviewed the decision firsthand—nor am I a lawyer—but the analysis suggests that the decision, while a win for [...]

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Tuned In+Uncategorized | 1403 days ago

FCC's Arbitrary, Capricious Jackson Ruling Ruled Capricious, Arbitrary

By James Poniewozik

It was four and a half years ago that Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” in the Super Bowl halftime show introduced an innocent nation to horrors of the female breast, inspired a frenzy of election-year mania over broadcast decency, and led media observers to wonder if a newly aggressive FCC would reverse the trend toward more [...]

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Tuned In+Uncategorized | 1529 days ago

Will SCOTUS Know Indecency When It Sees It?

By James Poniewozik

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up the case of Fox network vs. the FCC, after the U.S. court of appeals ruled that the FCC could not fine the network for the use of “fleeting expletives” by Cher and Nicole Richie. I won’t rehash my opinions on the case (see here, here and [...]