TV that lures and sells

When is comes to the public airwaves in the United States, the "public" is represented in Washington, D.C., by the Federal Communications Commission. With the increasing number of incidents of questionable adherence to the FCC's decency rules, the commission appears to have its hands full.

There was a time when the role of the TV censor was the butt of jokes. That was when censors actually censored and maintained standards that would be considered prudish by most of today's TV viewers.

Part of the change in standards for what can be broadcast on the public airwaves can be attributed to the advent of cable television channels and networks -- broadcasts that aren't regulated by the FCC because they don't rely on public airwaves to send their signals.

Cable TV has long tested every possible extreme of what once would have been considered pure filth. Cable and satellite systems reap enormous profit from channels that feature hard-core pornography, for example. And other cable channels include scenes and dialogue that would give the faint of heart cardiac arrest.

There is little doubt that the popularity of cable channels has given over-the-air channels -- the ones regulated by the FCC -- a challenge. In their efforts to keep audiences tuning in, the broadcast channels have looked for ways to stretch the limits of FCC regulations to keep up with the trends set by cable and satellite channels.

As a result, TV viewers are not exposed to indecency just because of programming decisions. Rather, programming decisions are based on what draws the biggest crowd. It is a sad commentary on our national morality that the biggest crowd prefers the worst content when it comes to foul language, lewd activities and bizarre plots.

Broadcast channels have done their best to keep up. Rather than maintaining a haven for TV viewers who prefer programs the whole family could comfortably watch together, FCC-regulated broadcasters have chosen to jump into the mire of filth and gore. Many programs now display a "Viewer discretion advised" warning as a come-on rather than a guide to making choices about what to watch.

The FCC's sting is less than a bee's. Fines for violating the commission's decency rules are limited to a mere $27,500, a paltry sum for a program that pays actors $1 million per episode and still makes millions of dollars each week.

Congress is currently holding hearings on efforts to increase the fines substantially. And some federal legislators are criticizing the FCC for being too lax.

If Congress is serious about what Americans see on the public airwaves, it should get serious both about the fines and about the quality of programming that is permitted. But they won't, because the owners of broadcast networks know their competitive edge would be doomed if decency were strictly enforced. And those corporations exert a good deal of influence in Congress.

What a sorry situation for a medium that is so powerful and has such an enormous sway on the nation's population.