FCC Chairman Calls on Cable to Address Indecency
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While steering clear of calling for extending indecency rules to cable, Kevin Martin says the industry has a responsibility to address concerns about vulgarity in TV programming.
SAN FRANCISCO—In one of his first appearances since taking the helm at the Federal Communications Commission, Kevin Martin encouraged cable executives to deal with the issue of indecency on television as an industry. Martin, who was appointed FCC chairman two weeks ago, spoke Tuesday during a session at the 2005 National Show, a cable conference and exposition being held here. Asked about whether the FCC would extend indecency rules to the cable industry, Martin responded that the U.S. Congress, and not the FCC, must decide whether the rules governing broadcast TV should be broadened. He did not say whether he supports including cable under indecency rules.But the cable industry has a responsibility to respond to growing concerns from viewers and parents about indecency in programming, Martin said. Martin has served as a commissioner since 2001, and he said that the number of indecency complaints reaching the FCC has risen during that time from a few hundred a year to millions a year.
Click here to read about former FCC Chairman Michael Powells farewell public address.
"When I talk about being a regulator, my personal vantage point is that the marketplace is much more important than regulation," Martin said. "But that doesnt mean the government doesnt have a role to play in [ensuring] fair competition."
Martin provided few details about the communications issues and technologies he expects to focus on as FCC chairman. When asked about the issue he first is dealing with in his new role, Martin referred to the personnel changes that typically follow a change in FCC leadership.
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As an online reporter for eWEEK.com, Matt Hicks covers the fast-changing developments in Internet technologies. His coverage includes the growing field of Web conferencing software and services. With eight years as a business and technology journalist, Matt has gained insight into the market strategies of IT vendors as well as the needs of enterprise IT managers. He joined Ziff Davis in 1999 as a staff writer for the former Strategies section of eWEEK, where he wrote in-depth features about corporate strategies for e-business and enterprise software. In 2002, he moved to the News department at the magazine as a senior writer specializing in coverage of database software and enterprise networking. Later that year Matt started a yearlong fellowship in Washington, DC, after being awarded an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship for Journalist. As a fellow, he spent nine months working on policy issues, including technology policy, in for a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He rejoined Ziff Davis in August 2003 as a reporter dedicated to online coverage for eWEEK.com. Along with Web conferencing, he follows search engines, Web browsers, speech technology and the Internet domain-naming system.
