WASHINGTON -- In a victory for TV networks but a setback for efforts to shield children from coarse language, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday that broadcasters cannot be penalized for expletives that are considered impromptu.

The three-judge panel in New York repudiated the Federal Communications Commission's recent crackdown on broadcast indecency, calling its efforts "arbitrary and capricious."

Fuckin' A! Good news.

[ Agreed. This has always seemed like a market issue to me. You don't like the tone or content on a particular network? Vote with your pocketbook and your voice. Don't watch it. Don't let your kids watch it. Teach your kids that Nicole Ritchie (or, substitute your own celeb) is a spoiled, classless moron and that imitating her is a sure fire way to also look like an imbecile with no sense of decorum or grace.

I view government regulation as necessary in a number of places, but this just isn't one of them.

I will admit that the structure of TV distribution makes market solutions harder than in other industries. I can just not go to McDonalds, but with TV, such a boycott means a lot less since I have to have the channel unless I cancel all of them. Neilsen is an inadequate mechanism for analysis of this sort of issue. A la carte purchasing would help a LOT. -k]

Judges toss FCC rule on cursing | Chicago Tribune