Broadcasters to Be on Congressional Hot Seat Over Indecency

Next Wednesday, Feb. 11, is going to be a big day for broadcast indecency.
That’s when both the House and Senate Commerce Committees plan to hold broadcast indecency hearings. Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, has slated a hearing on H.R. 3717, the “Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004.”
On the Senate side, John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, plans a hearing to let members “examine whether the current protections afforded parents and children concerning violent and indecent content in broadcast programming are adequate.” Witnesses for both hearings are yet to be confirmed.