The politics of porn

Page 2 of 2 -- Keeping the adult entertainment industry away from Washington made for a tidy hearing by allowing the views of the antipornography clan to go unchecked. Moreover, it is unlikely that many Americans will shed tears over the underrepresentation of the adult industry at a Senate hearing. But this legislative snubbing is indicative of a larger emerging problem whereby the government allows the viewpoints of a few to shape the national speech agenda for the whole, particularly on the topic of sex.

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Nowhere is this trend more focused than in the recent happenings at the Federal Communications Commission. The flurry of activity over indecency and profanity has brought that government agency to a fever's pitch, levying fines and warnings to broadcasters across America. The message is clear: America is fed up with foul language and sexual content on radio and television. Or is it?

For the past year, the FCC has led us to believe that the country wants the airwaves cleaned up -- and that chairman Michael Powell and his fellow arbiters of good taste are up to the task. Last February, Powell told lawmakers that the commission has experienced "a dramatic rise in public concern and outrage about what is being broadcast into their homes," touting figures which showed fewer than 350 complaints in 2001 to a record 240,000 in 2003.

Now, thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request to the agency, the nation learned last week that a staggering 99.8 percent of all indecency complaints filed during that year came from just one group, the Parents Television Council, a conservative advocacy group that boasts, on its website, it is "bringing America's demand for positive, family-oriented television programming to the entertainment industry."

PTC's president L. Brent Bozell is no stranger to Congress. In fact, he has testified before the very committee that hosted the four antipornography activists. And the core message is strikingly similar: We need to save America from itself.

But does mainstream America want the government's protection?

The business community doesn't think so.

Sirius satellite radio picked up the FCC's favorite loud-mouthed target Howard Stern for a reported $500 million. With subscriptions to the unregulated service now running at less than $13 a month, that company is banking on a mass exodus of Stern's loyal fans from free broadcasting to the paid variety.

In similar fashion, Larry Flynt's retail expansion throughout the country demonstrates faith in the mainstream marketplace and recognizes that Americans are not as uptight about sex as the FCC commissioners and some members of Congress.

Although the private sector will take care of itself, the American public should question how much money the federal government is spending on congressional hearings, questionable science and related efforts to appease a well-organized minority that feels it knows what's best for the country.

Robert D. Richards and Clay Calvert are professors of communications and law at Penn State University and co-directors of the Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment.