WASHINGTON -- January 22, 2008: An unbleeped "f-word" by Diane Keaton on ABC-TV's Good Morning America could end up putting the focus on the FCC's policy on fleeting or "slip of the tongue" indecency for the first time since a commission ruling on similar slips was thrown out in court.
The American Family Association, an activist group, says its members have filed thousands of complaints against their local ABC-TV affiliates over the January 15 on-air exchange, in which Keaton said that if she had lips like GMA host Diane Sawyer's, Keaton wouldn't have had to work on her "fucking personality."
The FCC changed its policy on fleeting or "slip of the tongue" indecency after Bono declared on the 2003 Golden Globe Awards that winning the award was "fucking brilliant." The commission later decided that similar remarks by Cher and Nicole Richie on Fox TV were also indecent, though it didn't issue fines because the incidents took place before the Bono-based policy change.
Fox appealed, and in June of last year the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the new FCC policy, saying the commission had "failed to articulate a reasoned basis" for changing its approach. The FCC has appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court.
While that matter remains pending, the Keaton incident may put some legislative efforts back on the front burner: Bipartisan bills are pending in the House and Senate that would specifically allow the FCC to set a policy that single words or images can put a broadcaster in violation of the indecency rules.
