by Mike Shea on 6 December 2004
This Media Week article reveals that 239,000 of the 240,000 complaints all came from the Parents Television Council, an anti-first amendment activist group. Here's a quote from the article:"The number of indecency complaints had soared dramatically to more than 240,000 in the previous year, Powell said. The figure was up from roughly 14,000 in 2002, and from fewer than 350 in each of the two previous years. There was, Powell said, "a dramatic rise in public concern and outrage about what is being broadcast into their homes."
"What Powell did not revealapparently because he was unawarewas the source of the complaints. According to a new FCC estimate obtained by Mediaweek, nearly all indecency complaints in 200399.8 percentwere filed by the Parents Television Council, an activist group. I took a look at the Parents Television Council and I see action items against shows that the complaier hasn't watched, I see attacks of basic cable services (a segment uncontrolled by the FCC), I see people spurned to action without cause. This single organization determines what you can and cannot see. They have a single point of view and an easy way for a million old ladies to click "ok".
Any organization with "parents" or "children" in the title is bound to against free speech.