SALLY FIELD - FOX EXPLAINS THE SOUND OF SILENCE

FOX EXPLAINS THE SOUND OF SILENCE

Despite a ruling by a federal appeals court in June that broadcasters cannot be held responsible for "fleeting expletives" uttered on live television, Fox decided to cut three such expletives from its telecast of the Emmys on Sunday. In one instance, the decision to hit the mute button resulted in dead audio for several seconds during antiwar remarks by Sally Field, giving the impression to some that she was being censored for her political comments. On Monday, Fox insisted that it had only been concerned about Field's use of the word "goddamn." (Her remarks aired uncensored in Canada, and excerpts from the Canadian telecast were promptly posted on YouTube and were printed unfiltered in many so-called family newspapers.) In a statement, Fox said, "Some language during the live broadcast may have been considered inappropriate by some viewers. As a result, Fox's broadcast standards executives determined it appropriate to drop sound during those portions of the show." Fox's decision to censor the remarks, however, seemed especially odd to several TV writers who pointed out that the network had been at the forefront of the battle against the FCC's efforts to punish broadcasters that allowed such language to go out over the air. In an interview with the New York Post, Joan Bertin, executive director for the National Coalition Against Censorship, commented, "This is the absurd result of the FCC's unpredictable ruling on what is and isn't decent on broadcast television. ... It's a little surprising that Fox would be so ultra-cautious, and it is hard for me to believe that the FCC could sustain a decency fine for these particular words."

18/09/2007