FCC upholds fine on CBS for Super Bowl snafu

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Communications
Commission on Wednesday upheld its proposed $550,000 fine
against 20 CBS television stations for a stunt involving pop
singer Janet Jackson briefly exposing her breast during the
2004 Super Bowl football game halftime show.

The FCC said it had rejected CBS’ argument that the
incident was not indecent and concluded that CBS “consciously
and willfully failed to take actions to prevent the broadcast
of the material, and that CBS is responsible for the halftime
show.”

The agency also proposed fining dozens of CBS stations
$32,500 each for another show, “Without A Trace,” that aired on
December 31, 2004 and depicted a sex orgy with boys and girls.