Fairfield Broadcasting’s Bill Wertz to Testify before
Upton’s Subcommittee Tomorrow
Executive Vice President of WKZO, Q-106.5, WQSN AM 1660 and Supertalk 1470 AM to testify at the hearing: “Can they Say that on TV: An Examination of the FCC's Enforcement with respect to Broadcast Indecency”

For Immediate Release January 27, 2004

Contact: Sean C. Bonyun
(202) 225-3761

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, tomorrow at 10:30am will hold the hearing “Can they Say that on TV: An Examination of the FCC's Enforcement with respect to Broadcast Indecency.” Upton introduced legislation last week to increase the financial penalties which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can impose on broadcasters who air obscenity, indecency, and profanity on television and radio.

Southwest Michigan’s Bill Wertz, Executive Vice President of the Fairfield Broadcasting Company, is scheduled to testify at the hearing. Fairfield Broadcasting owns Q-106.5 FM, AM 590 WKZO, The Sports Station, WQSN AM 1660 and Supertalk, 1470 AM WKLZ. In addition to Wertz, the other witnesses include Mr. David H. Solomon, Chief of the Enforcement Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, Mr. L. Brent Bozell III, President of the Parents Television Council and Mr. Robert Corn-Revere, Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.

“I look forward to hearing from Kalamazoo’s Bill Wertz and the other witnesses as we examine the FCC’s enforcement policies,” said Upton. “It is well past the time that we clean-up our airwaves. American families should be able to rely on the fact that -- at times when their children are likely to be tuning in -- broadcast television and radio programming will be free of indecency, obscenity and profanity. As it currently stands, FCC fines are not much of a deterrent. FCC Chairman Michael Powell has asked for Congress to increase current penalties for indecency by tenfold, and my legislation will do just that.”

The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau recently reviewed the use of the “f-word” by the singer Bono during NBC's recent telecast of the “Golden Globe Awards.” As Bono received his award, he exclaimed, “This is really, really f---ing brilliant.” In the Bono case, the FCC's Enforcement Bureau found that, while Bono's use of the “f-word” “may be crude and offensive,” it was not indecent under the law because, in the context in which it was used, it did not meet the legal definition. Upton has praised reports that FCC Chairman Michel Powell is seeking to reverse the Enforcement Bureau’s decision.

Upton’s bill, the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004, H.R. 3717, increases the current penalty caps for indecency by 10-times. Reps. Ed Markey (D-MA), Billy Tauzin (R-LA), and Rep. John Dingell are among the 25 original co-sponsors of Upton’s bipartisan legislation. Under current law, the maximum the FCC can fine per violation is $27,500 and a cap of up to $300,000 for a continuing violation. Upton’s bill would raise the total to $275,000 per violation and a cap of up to $3 million for a continuing violation.

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