FCC beats down Fox show five years later

The FCC, which always seems to have its knickers in a twist—but insists on imposing penalties when it sees said knickers on TV—is targeting 13 Fox affiliates with $7,000 fines for episodes of Married By America that contained “persistent sexual activities.” Now, “persistent sexual activities” and “marriage” sound mutually exclusive, and indeed, the naughtiness took place during the show’s bachelor and bachelorette parties. In a departure from its staid balance-sheet musings and world-trade analyses, Reuters paints this picture of the show, which aired nearly five years ago: “The program included scenes like a topless woman straddling a man, whipped cream being licked off one woman’s bare chest and an underwear-clad man being spanked by two female strippers.”