
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 13, 1990                   TAG: 9007130166
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

FCC ATTACKS 'INDECENCY'

Armed with new information about the viewing and listening habits of children, the Federal Communications Commission made a new effort Thursday to impose a complete ban on what it considers indecent radio and television broadcasts.

The government now bans such material from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. The agency defines the material as "patently offensive," depicting graphic "sexual or excretory activities" or sexual organs.

But the commission needs approval from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia before it can extend the ban. In January 1989, the court blocked the FCC's first attempt to impose a 24-hour ban until the commission provided evidence of a real risk that children were being exposed to late-night programming.

The five commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to adopt a report that responds to the appeals court's request and tries to demonstrate that the ban would not violate the First Amendment right of free speech.

The FCC said new data compiled by Arbitron, the rating service, indicated that some children under 17 listened to the radio and watched television at all hours of the day.

The ban would not apply to cable television.

"Parents feel beleaguered in their efforts to instill proper values," said Ervin Duggan, one of the commissioners. "The people who support this are not extremists, they are not know-nothings. They are people like you and me."

by CNB