The "Nip Slip"

We all remember Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" in the Superbowl; however, do we remember who was playing? The term "wardrobe malfunction" was created on that night which is now has been incorporated into our everyday communication.

This indecent exposure created a court battle between CBS and the FCC (Federal Communications Commission). The FCC has a plethora of "indecency complaints" (which mainly consist of content during primetime) and have now been able to now address the Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction." This article cited Dan Isett who is the director of public policy for the Parents Television Council and said that the PTC is looking into different stations that have broadcast indecent material while children are watching. He stated that, "obviously this is the first step in the process of hopefully finding against some of these broadcasters that air that type of material." He also said that, "the FCC and Capitol Hill will still need to be encouraged and cajoled to do the simple enforcement of broadcast decency law that's so important to parents and families."

Apparently, the government is always looking out for the "public interest" however, what is the definition of that term? The FCC's definition of "public interest" is: by balancing the various groups of people (Croteau & Hoynes, 2003, pg. 86). The government was originally established to control the peace within this nation; but is it going too far to the point where it is worrying about wardrobe malfunctions instead of more pressing issues such as the war? I would say yes, the government and their programs are going WAY TOO FAR with censoring/controlling of the media, technology, and even personal lifestyles. Going to court costs a lot of money and I feel that the money can go into something more important like.... I don't know.... getting the country out of major debt instead of prosecuting CBS because they did not have enough of a delay in their programming.

sARAH