So, only 20 TV stations are culpable for airing last year's Super Bowl halftime show ["FCC Throws Flag at CBS's Halftime Play," Style, Sept. 23]? I guess the many other stations that aired the show are in racier communities. Doesn't this show that we need to reevaluate the policy of fining broadcasters and expand the definition of what is acceptable on broadcast TV?
The FCC noted that a half-million viewers (as if some preset threshold had been passed) called to complain about being subjected to the sight of Janet Jackson's breast for nearly a second. Is that any worse than having two programs about wife-swapping in the fall lineup this year?
Sure, you can choose whether to watch a reality show about wife-swapping. But certainly the viewers offended by Ms. Jackson's breast had plenty of time (about the length of one marginal pop song) to realize that this was something they didn't want to see. And yet, after three minutes of Mr. Timberlake grabbing at Ms. Jackson's buttocks, they didn't turn off the TV.
JON S. OLSON
Arlington
