Dodging The 'Decency' Cops
Emmy censors made their best efforts on Sunday to block expletives uttered by three actors during the award show's live broadcast on Fox, the AP reported. The censoring dance comes as a debate brews over the FCC's "decency" policy. A federal appeals court in June rejected the FCC's rule that fines broadcasters for "fleeting expletives."
The network silenced the show for a few seconds when comedian Ray Romano used an expletive and Sally Field, who took home the award for best actress in a drama series, was "bleeped" after slipping a swear word into her acceptance speech. Actress Katherine Heigl also mouthed an expletive after winning an Emmy for her role on "Grey's Anatomy." Fox cut to another camera in an unsuccessful attempt at avoiding the exclamation.
The Senate Commerce Committee in July approved legislation by Sen. John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-W. Va., that would reaffirm the agency's authority to penalize broadcasters for "fleeting" utterances of profanity during live programming. A companion bill was also introduced in the House later that same month. -- Theresa Poulson
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