Must-not-see TV

t's been nearly a year since the Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" that created a battle cry for broadcast decency, but there hasn't been much change in prime-time offerings since.

A local chapter of the Parents Television Council is upset with the shows on broadcast television. The group has chastised KFVS12 for airing a repeat episode of "Without A Trace" on Dec. 31 that included graphic scenes of a teen orgy.

The Parents Television Council said the initial episode generated more than 7,000 complaints nationwide when it first aired in November 2004. The repeat got two complaints at CBS headquarters, said Mike Smythe, general manager of KFVS12, the local network affiliate.

The Parents Television Council chapter in Carbondale, Ill., has filed a complaint asking the Federal Communications Commission to levy fines against the local station for showing the episode again. The group also filed an FCC complaint at the time of the initial airing.

"The last time we filed complaints against this show, we were told that it was indecent and that CBS would not air this sort of thing again," said chapter director Danielle Loyd. "CBS has opened up a can of worms for local Channel 12 by agreeing not to air things then passing them off to affiliates without so much as a warning."

But often those warnings come in the nick of time, said Dr. Jim Dufek, a professor in the mass communications department at Southeast Missouri State University.

Broadcasters, like the motion picture industry, do use a ratings system, which should help warn parents and viewers of questionable programming. And the FCC requires that no indecent programs be aired between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Parents who objected to the "Without A Trace" episode were upset not only that it aired but at the time and day it aired -- late on New Year's Eve when many children stayed up later than usual.

The show began here at 9 p.m., but ran at 10 p.m. on the East Coast, which fits into the "safe harbor" parameters for indecency rules set by the FCC, Smythe said.

Loyd wants KFVS12 to pay a stiff penalty for going back on the word of the network.

Smythe said the station does its best to protect the audience from questionable programs, but "we're not going to censor anything."

As a CBS affiliate, "we're only allowed so many hours of pre-emption, but we'll fight for something we think is right," he said.

Smythe believes the indecency issue now is related to the Super Bowl incident last February when thousands of people complained because entertainer Janet Jackson's breast was exposed during the halftime show.

He said broadcast stations can't be held responsible for live events they have no control over nor should they be responsible for programs that have ratings labels identifying that the show has coarse language, references to sex and violence.

"If you're upset about that, that's why we have remotes," he said.

Networks today have to compete with cable television for viewers, and that's made the difference in what sort of programs and what quality of shows air, Dufek said.

"They're going after younger audiences, and the titillating program is what attracts them," he said.

Parents who try to keep tabs on what programming their children watch find that not many shows are suitable during prime-time broadcasts.

Annette Horman, a mother of three, tries to limit what television shows her children watch. It's a difficult task.

"But it's really hard to censor the TV unless you have it off," she said.

Lara Mahaney, a spokeswoman for the Parents Television Council in Los Angeles, suggests that parents limit the amount of television their children watch and restrict questionable programs.

"Parents can be just as culpable because they've got a role to play in protecting their kids," Mahaney said.

ljohnston@semissourian.com

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