At CAA's Century City headquarters on Wednesday evening, a panel of notable entertainment officials gathered -- not to agonize about the ongoing writers strike that has crippled television production -- but rather to examine a suddenly refreshing issue as old as mass communication itself: the tension between TV's artistic freedom and social responsibility.
Diane Keaton's apparently inadvertent use of the f-word during a segment of "Good Morning America" this week served as a timely jumping-off point for the panelists, who included former NBC President Warren Littlefield; Olivia Cohen-Cutler, who oversees ABC's standards and practices department; Shawn Ryan, creator of FX's "The Shield"; and Tim Winter, head of the L.A.-based watchdog group the Parents Television Council. The roughly two-hour discussion was presented by the Junior Hollywood Radio and Television Society and the American Civil Liberties Union.
While promoting her new film "Mad Money" Tuesday morning, Keaton complimented host Diane Sawyer's beauty and in particular her thick lips, adding that if she had lips like that she wouldn't have to work on her -- throwing in the obscenity -- personality. ABC officials apologized for the obscenity, which aired uncensored on many ABC affiliates on the East Coast but was bleeped in later feeds for the Central, Mountain and Pacific time zones.
The obscenity prompted Winter to rally his estimated 1.1 million PTC membership, and he urged them to log official complaints with the Federal Communications Commission, which has the power to impose heavy fines upon broadcasters who violate decency standards. In a press release issued that day, Winter said America's families and children had been "sucker punched."
At Wednesday night's panel, Winter was asked what harm was truly done to America by Keaton's flippant word choice. Winter said: "The Earth didn't fall off its axis." But, he added, the verbal mishap is a symptom of a much larger problem of the networks failing to prevent inappropriate material from airing during times when children could be watching.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said it's unlikely the federal agency would take action against ABC in view of recent court cases. Last year, in a clear victory for the TV networks, a federal court ruled that broadcasters couldn't be penalized for impromptu expletives. The Bush administration is appealing that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
