A federal appeals court has ruled that the Federal Communications Commission cannot fine ABC and selected affiliates $1.2 million for airing a 2003 episode of NYPD Blue that showed actress Charlotte Ross' nude buttocks, citing the FCC's unconstitutionally vague rules, The Associated Press reports.
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The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said Tuesday that the decision was in line with its previous ruling that TV stations can no longer be fined for fleeting, unscripted profanities uttered during live broadcasts. In July, the appeals court ruled that the FCC's indecency policy violated First Amendment rights and was unconstitutionally vague.
In its Tuesday ruling, the three-judge panel wrote that there was "no significant distinction" between its decision in the expletives case and the NYPD Blue case.
Court rules FCC indecency policy "unconstitutionally vague"
"According to the FCC, 'nudity itself is not per se indecent,'" the judges wrote. "The FCC, therefore, decides in which ...
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ABC on Thursday ponied up $1,237,500 in fines assessed by the FCC for the 2003 broadcast of an NYPD Blue episode in which for a fleeting instant, Charlotte Ross made us all forget about Eve Donovan's icky romance with Nick Corelli. (Watch video here. Warning: Nudity.) But this nude's story isn't over yet, folks. ABC merely paid its tab so that it can have its day in court. "While strongly opposed to the fines, ABC paid them in their entirety in order to make the FCC decision appealable," the network says in a statement cited by Broadcasting & Cable. "ABC contends that the FCC order is arbitrary and capricious, contrary to the commission’s own standards and past decisions and in violation of the indecency statute and the First Amendment."Related:• ABC and Affiliates "Rebutt" FCC's NYPD Blue Fine • FCC: NYPD Was Too Blue; ABC to Fight $1.4 Mil Fine
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ABC and the ABC Affiliates Association on Monday formally appealed the FCC's proposed $1.4 million fine for a 2003 episode of NYPD Blue in which Charlotte Ross bared her backside as well as a bit of breast. At issue is the fact that said shower scene was broadcast by 52 ABC affiliates in the Central and Mountain zones before 10 pm. "When the brief scene in question was telecast almost five years ago, this critically acclaimed drama had been on the air for a decade and the realistic nature of its storylines was well known to the viewing public," ABC argues in a statement. "The FCC's action was inconsistent with the commission's own indecency standards, procedural requirements and prior decisions; with the indecency statute; and with the First Amendment."A chairman for the ABC Affiliates Association adds, "[We] believe that the process and procedures employed by the [FCC] in the handling of this matter were deeply flawed and violate well-settled legal standards."The scene in question ...
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The Federal Communications Commission on Friday levied a $1.4 million fine against 52 ABC stations, stemming from a 2003 broadcast of NYPD Blue. The episode in question showed Charlotte Ross' Det. Connie McDowell startled by a young boy as she was about to take a shower, and in doing so showed "multiple, close-up views" of Ross' "nude buttocks," the FCC says. (A clip of the scene (warning: nudity) can be found here; megaprops to reader obriensg1 for finding it.) The ABC affiliates targeted by the fine broadcast in the Central and Mountain time zones, and thus aired the episode before the 10 o'clock hour.ABC — which unsuccessfully argued against the FCC's contention that buttocks are a "sexual organ" — has responded to the ruling by noting that NYPD Blue came with parental warnings, was V-chip-enabled, and because it had been on the air for a decade at the time, "the realistic nature of its storylines was well-known to the viewing public." "ABC feels strongly that the FCC's...
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As a writer, I work alone. And I like it. When creating my books, I'm not only the writer, I'm the director, the costume and set designer, I'm hair and makeup. And I'm the entire cast. The wrap parties are pretty quiet, but I get all the champagne and pizza. It's a great job, and not nearly as schizophrenic as it sounds. Really.
When a book's being adapted into a movie, the writer turns all those other fun jobs over to the movie experts. If the writer's lucky, those experts may want her input.
I'm really lucky.
My first stroke of luck was in having producers like Mandalay and Stephanie Germain Productions interested in adapting four of my romantic-suspense novels for TV [airing Mondays beginning Jan. 29; see complete schedule below]. The second, having Lifetime showcase those films, slammed it out of the park.
It was fascinating for me to read each draft of the scripts. The translations keyed into the heart of the stories. As casting progressed, my del
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