CNBC Capital Report - Transcript

CNBC News Transcripts

SHOW: Capital Report (7:00 PM ET) - CNBC

HEADLINE: Senator Sam Brownback discusses indecency on TV and radio

ANCHORS: ALAN MURRAY

BODY:
ALAN MURRAY, co-host:

In tonight's capital focus, Senator Sam Brownback and some of his colleagues have told the media giant Viacom to clean up its act or else. Viacom is the parent company of both CBS Television, which aired Janet Jackson's bare breast during the Super Bowl halftime, and of Infinity Broadcasting, which airs shock jock Howard Stern's daily rants. Well, Wednesday night, CBS caught the attention of the indecency cops once again, by airing Courtney Love disrobing on the David Letterman show. At one point the rock star pointed to her chest and said, 'FCC.' That's the Federal Communications Commission. Republican Senator Brownback of Kansas joins us now on CAPITAL REPORT.

Senator, what is up between you and Viacom?

Senator SAM BROWNBACK (Republican, Kansas): Well, I'm just asking them to stand by the company policy that they articulated in hearings in front of the House committee that they said that they were gonna put in tape delays or five-second delays, and then when in doubt, leave it out. That they weren't gonna continue to push the lines on indecency issues that have been going on for a numbers of years, but the Super Bowl halftime show was just like the ultimate, and people said, 'Look, that's it. I've had it. This is a prime time family event and I just don't want to have to put up with those issues when I'm watching things with my kids.' And that's simply all I'm asking of the company, is say, 'You know, stand by the company policy you've articulated, live by the FCC decency standards that I think are pretty easy to understand,' and they seem not willing to do so.

MURRAY: Now there was a broadcast of the "Howard Stern Show" on February 24th, his radio show, that got you particularly upset, included some explicit conversations about sex acts, racial slurs. Tell us why that one particularly got you going.

Sen. BROWNBACK: Well, it was right after they had been in front of the House Commerce Committee saying that, you know, 'Look, we're not gonna be a poster child for indecency. We're going to clean up our act. We, the industry, we're going to do this.' And everybody thought, 'Well, good. And finally maybe we're moving forward because, you know, nobody wants to limit free speech, but we do want to have some sense of a community standard of decency.' And when they said these things, people were hopeful, and then not 10 days later, you have the sort of things on the radio on over-the-air broadcasts, these are public airwaves, owned by the public, that are shocking and clearly indecent by anybody's community standard.

MURRAY: Let...

Sen. BROWNBACK: And that's what seemed so abusive about what took place.

MURRAY: Well, you say clearly indecent by any standard, but let me read you what Mel Karmizan wrote in his letter back to you on this very subject. He said, quote, "While I understand that there were some sexual references in the interview, I had been advised that our editors made the good faith judgment that the references which aired were not graphic, patently offensive descriptions of sexual activity. With respect to the broadcast's inclusion of what you describe as," quote, "'despicable racist language,' I have been advised that a caller to the radio station did use a racist term on the air. But while offensive, this language does not fall within the ambit of the indecency definition."

He says, 'We weren't indecent.'

Sen. BROWNBACK: Well-and that's what I'm saying is you listed the topics that were being discussed on that over-the-air broadcast. These are not things for over-the-air public-owned airwaves, and the president, the CEO of the company is saying he doesn't see it as such. If that's gonna be the case, if the industry can't monitor itself, then you're left with a number of fines coming out, which I understand the FCC is issuing and putting forward now. That's not the way these should be handled. The industry itself should deal with its own indecency issues and they're coming forth in unfortunately more numbers of items that people are doing things that clearly break community standards.

MURRAY: How are you gonna-you're clearly not happy with this letter you got from Mel Karmizan. How are you gonna respond?

Sen. BROWNBACK: Well, you currently have a bill moving through the House and through the Senate that will take the current fines for indecency up tenfold, because the fines now are maximum $27,500. That's just really not much of any sort of penalty on a company. Gonna up those tenfold. There is in the House provision a three-strikes provision that if you have three of these instances, then your company, the license that you have for over-the-air broadcast, will be reviewed...

MURRAY: Wow.

Sen. BROWNBACK: ...as to whether or not even to pull the license. Those are stiff penalties, but the industry itself can answer these things.

MURRAY: Yeah.

Sen. BROWNBACK: When you're talking about these racial epithets that are being used, that's a separate is issue. That's not indecency. But these other sets of ones, the halftime show, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake, who doesn't define that, if they're sitting in their living room with their family watching that, is saying this is indecent?

MURRAY: OK.

Sen. BROWNBACK: There are plenty of other venue that that show can go on that they don't need to be in prime time, over-the-air broadcasting.

MURRAY: All right. Senator Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas, thank you very much for being with us.

Sen. BROWNBACK: Thank you.