When worlds collide: King Mswati III of Swaziland chooses his thirteenth wife at the Umhlanga, a Zulu reed-dancing ceremony [NSFW, tame]. The BBC reports on the story, but then realise US networks they syndicate to might be fined due to FCC regulations on nudity. Richard Porter, editor of BBC World, explains more in his blog.
posted by randomination on Sep 14, 2006 - 20 comments

Hey! Good news! (pdf) The FCC recently issued notices that broadcasters must disclose the source of Video News Releases, or VNR's, which, if you haven't already heard, "... are essentially prepackaged news stories, that may use actors to play reporters and include suggested scripts to introduce the stories."

From the notice: "... listeners and viewers are entitled to know who seeks to persuade them with the programming offered over broadcast stations and cable systems." The GAO has issued cautionary notices about VNR's before as a response to complaints that several government agencies were walking fine lines with their "news" productions.
posted by odinsdream on Apr 14, 2005 - 10 comments

Start saving for your childrens future therapy. What they learned this month is dead bodies being burnt and strung up on a bridge is ok to print on the front page of a newspaper, and watch on the news at dinner time; but you better not see any nipple, even for a half a second.
posted by CrazyJub on Apr 3, 2004 - 67 comments

Broadcast flag blues?! The EFF seems to be fighting a losing war against the FCC's proposed "broadcast flag" initiative (Salon), but they're making a big last-minute push to get more people to spread the news and contact the FCC. Will the broadcast flag initiative become a "gateway regulation", leading us to a future where Hollywood dictates to manufacturers what they can and cannot create? Mass exodus to Tokyo, anyone?!
posted by insomnia_lj on Oct 27, 2003 - 4 comments

This is really, really f------ brilliant. The FCC says the f-word is OK on network TV, as long as it doesn't refer to the sexual act. Naturally, some groups don't like dirty talk. Is this a sea change in the level of discourse, or is the FCC finally acknowledging that it's useless to protect kids from our favorite four-letter word? (Second link is a .pdf file.)
posted by sixpack on Oct 8, 2003 - 104 comments

FCC Wants To Revoke Kevin Mitnick's Ham Radio License. Don't they have better things to be worrying about right now? (from Politech)
posted by tpoh.org on Dec 26, 2001 - 35 comments