Blogger uncovers molehill under Fox's mountainous fine

BuzzMachine, by blogger Jeff Jarvis, is reporting the basis for the recent 1.2M dollar indecency hit suffered by Fox Network for its airing of "Married by America" back in April 2003 (10/13/04 RBR Daily Epaper #200). Using the Freedom of Information Act, Jarvis asked "...to see all of the 159 complaints the FCC cited in its complaint against Fox."

Jarvis found out first that there were in fact only 90 complaints, and that thanks to photocopying and email copying technology, the number of US citizens who actually took the time to express themselves originally on the topic was far less than that.

"So in the end, that means that a grand total of three citizens bothered to take the time to sit down and actually write a letter of complaint to the FCC," wrote Jarvis. "Millions of people watched the show. Three wrote letters of complaint."

RBR has argued that there needs to be a new metric, or at least the application of a pillar of salt, when measuring the true impact of complaints and comments in the Internet age in light of the common tactic of getting website constituents to mass email a designated target. Given that, we should point out that 90 is a remarkably low total in this day and age.

Jarvis has an interesting take on this phenomenon. "Reading stories about the FCC's actions, you'd think that millions of Americans are outraged by what's on TV. No, millions watch TV. Only three are outraged...It's like a scene out of an old French Foreign Legion movie in which the tiny band of soldiers put helmets on sticks over the wall of the fort to make the stupid enemy think that they are facing not a handful but hundreds. Well, the FCC is that stupid enemy, and so are we."

If Jarvis gets his wish, the FCC will be inundated with FOIA requests similar to his by reporters and citizens alike. He particularly wants to find out why Viacom is being charged with conspiracy in the Janet Jackson incident.

An even more elemental point made by Jarvis is the finding of indecency is questionable in the first place. He says that Fox took a huge hit, based on the three original letters, "...for suggesting - - not depicting but merely suggesting - - sex on a show that had already been canceled because the marketplace didn't like it anyway. This is the respect the FCC gives to the American people and our First Amendment."