• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, June 20, 2013

Fox has a pointwhen it comes to indecency issues and the FCC: It’s a hodgepodge. But more to the point, considering what has been going on in other media, the FCC’s narrow focus on just TV seems foolish. You want change? Give the FCC even more authority -- or none at all. But none of this in-between stuff.

Here’s Fox’s statement, which seemingly reiterated what it has said in the past: “Time and technology have moved inexorably forward, but the commission’s untenable effort to define indecent content through a hodgepodge of inconsistent and uneven rulings remain stuck in a bygone era.”

The Internet, of course, has changed everything. Should the FCC -- or some other agency -- be in charge of its content? And while we’re at it, what about regular old cable TV programming?

Indecency-policing supporters want to grab what’s left of the diminishing broadcast industry when it comes to inappropriate content. The laws in part are on their side. But truth is, whatever you think of broadcasting content, both the appropriate and inappropriate content are losing ground to other cable TV, Netflix, social media and other stuff.

Parents should be involved -- and then some. They can block websites when it comes to inappropriate content and, somewhat of a lesser known fact -- they can do it for broadcast TV as well. Sometimes a good conversation with kids can work. Still, there usually will be spillage.

Hundreds of thousands have filed complaints to the FCC concerning indecency, asking for the federal agency to do more work. There are comments like this: “The media has already effectively destroyed American society.”

What does this mean for advertisers? Looking for content that fits their brands may only get more difficult, as they sift through content and work on figuring out consumers’ tastes, and what they think is appropriate or not.

This is a process. Should we give the FCC even more power when it comes to indecency? Or less? Do we want freedom to do what we want and to talk to children the way we want about content -- or have someone else do that for us?