What a difference a few months – and a few hundred thousand protests – make. In October the Enforcement Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reviewed and summarily denied viewer complaints about the use of the f-word during the broadcast of the Golden Globe Awards ceremony in January 2003. The Bureau ruled that the broadcast of the profanity did not violate indecency laws.

Negative public reaction to that ruling was immediate, and the pressure on the FCC has continued to grow. Members of AFA’s OneMillionMoms.com (OMM) and OneMillionDads.com (OMD), which use E-mails to contact television sponsors, government officials, and other decision-makers, let the FCC have it over its continued laxness.

AFA Chairman Don Wildmon said, “Our members have generated well over 1,750,000 E-mails to the FCC Commissioners and members of Congress. I think they are getting the message.”

FCC Commissioner Michael Copps met on January 12 with AFA General Counsel Patrick Vaughn, who cited AFA’s concerns with lax enforcement of FCC rules regarding indecent language on broadcast television and radio.

A day after the meeting, FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell recommended to his fellow commissioners that the earlier ruling by the Enforcement Bureau be overturned. A majority is expected to support the reversal.

Two weeks later, the FCC announced it would fine Clear Channel radio stations in Florida the hefty sum of $755,000 for broadcast indecency. The fines were levied after several Clear Channel stations aired Bubba the Love Sponge programs over a period of several days.

In a press release, the FCC said it “found 26 apparent indecency violations that involved graphic and explicit sexual and/or excretory material, and were designed to pander to, titillate and shock listeners.”

Copps said he believed the fine was not enough. “To fulfill our duty under the law, I believe the Commission should have designated these cases for a hearing on the revocation of these stations’ licenses, as provided for by Section 312(a)(6) of the Communications Act,” he said in a statement.

Powell has also asked Congress, which has oversight of the FCC, to increase “by at least tenfold” the maximum fines that can be levied against television networks and radio stations for decency violations. The current maximum is $27,500.

“We think these are some good, initial steps in reining in renegade stations and network producers,” Wildmon said. “For too long, they’ve gotten away with their warped sense of entertainment.”

Proof that there is still a tremendous amount of work to do occurred on February 1, when CBS aired the Super Bowl – watched by an estimated 92 million viewers in the U.S., including almost eight million children between the ages of two and 11. During halftime, viewers were subjected to vulgar singing and dance routines that were produced by MTV and, predictably, offended countless people. At the end of a song by Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson, Timberlake tore off part of Jackson’s costume to reveal her bare breast.

Within 36 hours of MTV’s stunt, over 30,000 angry viewers used AFA’s Web site to send a letter of formal complaint to the FCC. Over the next 24-hour period, 250,000 E-mails were sent to the FCC and members of Congress.

“People are very upset by CBS’ blatant disregard for broadcast indecency rules,” Wildmon said.

The day after the Super Bowl, Powell said he was outraged by the entire halftime show, and promised action. “I have instructed the Commission to open an immediate investigation into [Sunday’s] broadcast,” he said in a statement. “Our investigation will be thorough and swift.”