Indecency Undressed
No, the real penalties are the $2.5 billion kind that a federal prosecutor wants from John and Timothy Rigas, the former senior executives at Adelphia Communications. The Rigas' were convicted of fraud in looting the company of $2.5 billion.
While not technically a fine -- and while it has nothing to do with indecent TV program content -- it's the government's big way of branding a hot iron on some indecent TV business activities.
The Rigas' essentially used their company's coffers as their own personal bank, blatantly disregarding Adelphia's status as a public company that must adhere to strict Securities and Exchange Commission guidelines.
Can the government really get back the money? Maybe.
Prosecutors can enforce a "forfeiture judgment" on the pair which could allow the government to seize their stock in various cable systems around the country that are managed by Adelphia.
This is not a paltry little fine the FCC gives to TV networks or stations when it comes to questionable TV content. The government should be applauded for their good work on penalizing the Rigas' - and should do more of it.
The bigger issue is the dollars themselves - especially news stories of big money and people. Forget about Janet Jackson's breast. As indecent TV content goes, what can you tell your children and teenagers when they hear press reports of multi-million dollar salaries of professional athletes or major film actors?
How indecent is it when sports athletes don't play very well or when big-time actors can't offer good entertainment? What does that tell young people? That big money is not indecent - just possible? Perhaps that $140 million Walt Disney paid to Michael Ovitz as a severance might also be in this category.
If sex and violence are words that will be thrown around with the word indecency in years to come, we'll need to add one more subject: money.
WAYNE FRIEDMAN
Wayne Friedman is West Coast Editor of MediaPost.
Recent TV Watch Articles
-
TV Distributors Looking For More Programming Control, Possibly With Some Big-Media Approval May 21, 9:56 p.m.
DirecTV and Time Warner Cable are two traditional TV programming distributors kicking the tires at Hulu. ...
-
When News Twists In The Wind, TV Show Up Faster & With More Detail May 21, 12:24 a.m.
Seemingly minutes after a massive tornado hit, an MSNBC news image showed a speedboat sitting on ...
-
Big TV Broadcast Development for 2013-2014: But Where Is The New Reality? May 17, 9:37 a.m.
Good news for those who still believe in broadcast network television: There some 52 new shows ...
-
2013 TV Upfront Conclusion: Harder For Viewers To Avoid Commercials May 16, 7:40 a.m.
TV commercial overload: It's not over yet.While the TV industry works out its online and digital ...
-
Where Do TV Broadcast Networks Fit In A La Carte Programming? May 15, 9:58 a.m.
It may be no coincidence that Sen. John McCain's bill to revamp most of the modern ...
-
Will You Fail TV's test... Or Will TV Fail You? May 14, 9:56 a.m.
Take a TV test. TV networks still believe your positive results are crucial for their fall ...
-
Upfront Nerves: Digital Executives On Edge. TV Executives? Calm Before The Storm May 13, 1:57 p.m.
Pre-upfront time media executive nerves are on edge.Senior media agency executives are telling major digital video ...
-
Can Cable Or Digital Content Networks Provide Relief For TV's 'Failure Tax'? May 10, 4:41 p.m.
Failure tax? Is that what marketers continue to pay to TV broadcasters? Yes, according to Mel ...
-
McCain Bill Would Upset The TV System -- In Theory May 9, 11:01 a.m.
If Sen. John McCain has his way, the whole broadcast/cable eco-system will be turned upside real ...
-
Sharing Media Content: Still Good For Friends And Maybe Even Content Owners May 8, 2:16 p.m.
BitTorrent, the file-sharing service that has a bad rap because its technology gets mentioned in the ...
Be the first to comment on "Indecency Undressed"
Leave a Comment