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              JOINT STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONERS
       KATHLEEN Q. ABERNATHY AND JONATHAN S. ADELSTEIN

Re:  Complaints against Fox Television Stations, Inc. 
     Regarding Its Broadcast of the ``Keen Eddie'' Program 
     on June 10, 2003, File No. EB-03-IH-0324

Re:  In the Matter of WBDC Broadcasting, Inc., Licensee of 
     Station WBDC-TV, Washington, D.C., File Nos. EB-03-IH-
     0466, EB-03-IH-0467; Facility ID No. 30576


     Balancing First Amendment protections with our 
restriction on indecency requires a careful, measured 
approach that does not infringe upon fundamental 
constitutional rights.  We have had to review many programs, 
which, as parents, we certainly would not want our children 
to watch.  Yet, whether a program is suitable for our 
children is not the standard that as Commissioners of this 
agency we must apply.  Certainly, there is a great deal of 
material that is not directed towards children and that many 
may find objectionable or in bad taste, yet the material 
does not rise to the level of being indecent.  The programs 
in these complaints fit within that category.  As other 
radio and television cases demonstrate, we have not shied 
away from enforcing restrictions on indecency when the 
matter at issue does violate our rules.  We are, however, 
compelled by the Constitution not to overreach our limited 
authority in this area and impose our taste and personal 
judgments on the rest of America.  If we overstep our 
authority, we run the risk of having our limited authority 
curtailed forever.  As parents and Commissioners, we have 
carefully applied the law with the long-term sustainability 
of our enforcement authority in mind.