Non-cable US media broadcast of beheading? Obscenity charges thereof?
October 5, 2015 12:37 AM Subscribe
Some years ago, a national non-cable news program broadcasted footage of a terror group's beheading video. Was there ever an obscenity charge brought against the station, or was that broadcast permitted by legal authorities?
Many years ago, post-9/11 but pre-ISIS (and pre-all-digital broadcast requirements), I recall having seen a national media outlet on the normal 5-o'clock or 10-o'clock news broadcast video footage of a terrorist beheading someone. I can't recall which station, but it was an American, non-cable station of the order of NBC/CBS/etc.
I personally turned away and muted it to avoid seeing it, but many people I spoke with who did watch it fully were repulsed physically and emotionally at having seen it. Lately I have been researching what qualifies as legal obscenity and "transportation" of it, and I am curious as to whether that broadcast was ever used as evidence or had charges brought against the station for having transmitted it..
I realize my details of its origin are sketchy at best, so I'm mainly perhaps curious of anything even remotely similar. All my searches for beheadings in the news or the legality of such broadcasts all return recent results and seem to never touch on the particular subject I'm seeking info about.
Many years ago, post-9/11 but pre-ISIS (and pre-all-digital broadcast requirements), I recall having seen a national media outlet on the normal 5-o'clock or 10-o'clock news broadcast video footage of a terrorist beheading someone. I can't recall which station, but it was an American, non-cable station of the order of NBC/CBS/etc.
I personally turned away and muted it to avoid seeing it, but many people I spoke with who did watch it fully were repulsed physically and emotionally at having seen it. Lately I have been researching what qualifies as legal obscenity and "transportation" of it, and I am curious as to whether that broadcast was ever used as evidence or had charges brought against the station for having transmitted it..
I realize my details of its origin are sketchy at best, so I'm mainly perhaps curious of anything even remotely similar. All my searches for beheadings in the news or the legality of such broadcasts all return recent results and seem to never touch on the particular subject I'm seeking info about.
Best answer: The common law of obscenity has always been understood to cover only depictions with sexual or a paraphilic activity, and the Supreme Court has applied the First Amendment to in any event specifically limit obscenity prosecutions to extremes of such content. So the beheadings wouldn't ever be prosecutable as obscenity.
The suitability of content rules the FCC can apply to over the air broadcast media are far broader, but I would think the FCC would be extraordinarily hesitant about enforcement activity about such content. But in any event they couldn't touch CNN or Fox News, whose content they cannot regulate. Advertiser content requirements are probably the strictest thing in play here.
posted by MattD at 3:55 AM on October 5, 2015
The suitability of content rules the FCC can apply to over the air broadcast media are far broader, but I would think the FCC would be extraordinarily hesitant about enforcement activity about such content. But in any event they couldn't touch CNN or Fox News, whose content they cannot regulate. Advertiser content requirements are probably the strictest thing in play here.
posted by MattD at 3:55 AM on October 5, 2015
When I was a child in Southern California ( 90's?) there was a afternoon news coverage of a car chase.... the car stopped and the man got out and shot himself. I'm not sure what happened to that news station.
posted by pairofshades at 5:12 AM on October 5, 2015
posted by pairofshades at 5:12 AM on October 5, 2015
I saw the Southern Cal car chase/suicide pairofshades is referring to. I remember it happened quite quickly, and they clearly didn't mean to show it.
posted by BlahLaLa at 6:58 AM on October 5, 2015
posted by BlahLaLa at 6:58 AM on October 5, 2015
FCC obscenity regulations only cover sexual content.
Most channels won't (deliberately, anyway) show actual non-fiction deaths because it makes advertisers upset. That's it. There's no illegality. There's no fine, no penalty. Possibly, if a network or cable channel said, "Hey, next week we're going to air this thing" someone might have grounds to get an injunction to stop them from showing it, but again that isn't based on regulations about airing the content, it would be about invasion of privacy or showing footage they didn't have rights to or another civil matter like that.
There is also a back-channel between American (and allied) broadcasters and the NSA/CIA/State Department that is more of a handshake agreement that the broadcasters will or won't show certain things (including in fictional content), in which non-compliance would likely result in some congressfolks disinclined to do you any favors in the near future. That's still not a fine or a penalty.
But not showing those things is ultimately entirely voluntary.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:30 AM on October 5, 2015
Most channels won't (deliberately, anyway) show actual non-fiction deaths because it makes advertisers upset. That's it. There's no illegality. There's no fine, no penalty. Possibly, if a network or cable channel said, "Hey, next week we're going to air this thing" someone might have grounds to get an injunction to stop them from showing it, but again that isn't based on regulations about airing the content, it would be about invasion of privacy or showing footage they didn't have rights to or another civil matter like that.
There is also a back-channel between American (and allied) broadcasters and the NSA/CIA/State Department that is more of a handshake agreement that the broadcasters will or won't show certain things (including in fictional content), in which non-compliance would likely result in some congressfolks disinclined to do you any favors in the near future. That's still not a fine or a penalty.
But not showing those things is ultimately entirely voluntary.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:30 AM on October 5, 2015
I remember seeing film from the Rwanda genocide which showed a man's head being chopped off. It was from a great distance. This was on broadcast news, too.
When Bud Dwyer committed suicide, my local TV station showed it on the evening news. I didn't watch; I turned my head away, but I heard the shot so I know they showed the actual death.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:29 AM on October 5, 2015
When Bud Dwyer committed suicide, my local TV station showed it on the evening news. I didn't watch; I turned my head away, but I heard the shot so I know they showed the actual death.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:29 AM on October 5, 2015
The newsreader said they were going to show the whole thing before they started running the clip.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 5:03 PM on October 5, 2015
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 5:03 PM on October 5, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by andrewcooke at 2:33 AM on October 5, 2015