In the news
Report: CBS may face $550,000 fine for Super Bowl
By wire services
Published July 1, 2004
WASHINGTON - CBS could face a fine of $550,000 for airing Janet Jackson's breast-baring performance during the Super Bowl, the Associated Press reported Wednesday, quoting a person familiar with the matter.
According to the source, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, a staff recommendation to the Federal Communications Commission suggests each of the 20 CBS-owned stations be fined the maximum indecency penalty of $27,500 for the incident.
The staff did not recommend fining CBS affiliates that aired the Super Bowl show but are not owned by Viacom Inc., the parent company of CBS, the source said.
The commissioners now must decide whether to accept the recommendation. A decision is expected in the next few weeks.
FCC spokesman David Fiske declined to comment.
Sharpton to host reality TV show for career makeovers
NEW YORK - The Rev. Al Sharpton, who failed in his last bid for a new job - president of the United States - now has a job on a reality TV show that guides people on career makeovers.
Spike TV, the Viacom cable channel that targets a young male audience, said Sharpton will host I Hate My Job, premiering in the fall.
"I like the concept of trying to have people discover their purpose in life, and not have the world define them or settle for less than who they want to be just to pay their bills," Sharpton said Tuesday.
The eight male contestants in the show will quit their jobs and work with two "life counselors," Sharpton and California psychologist Stephanie Raye, who will give them advice and weekly assignments. A panel will decide which contestants will continue each week.
"I'm the working man's (Donald) Trump," Sharpton said. "He brings people into the penthouse. We bring them into the house."
Teenager arrested for recording "Spider-Man 2'
LOS ANGELES - A teenager was arrested early Wednesday in a California theater showing Spider-Man 2 after a projectionist using night vision goggles saw him using a camcorder to make an illegal copy of the superhero sequel.
The 16-year-old could be charged under a law that went into effect Jan. 1 and makes taking a recording device into a movie theater a crime punishable by up to one year in jail and a maximum fine of $2,500.
The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office will review the case and decide whether to charge the teen, who was released to his parents' custody, said Sgt. Mel Amoroso, a spokesman at the Los Angeles Police Department's Devonshire Division.
The film industry's trade group hailed the arrest and credited its recent initiative to offer cash rewards of up to $500 to theater employees who turn in moviegoers attempting to make illicit film copies.
Camcorders account for 92 percent of all illegal copies of films that are sold online and on street corners worldwide, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.
The teenager, whose identity was not released, was among the throngs of midnight movie viewers throughout the country who crowded theaters to catch the debut of the Spider-Man sequel.
[Last modified July 1, 2004, 01:00:36]
Entertainment headlines
Sideshow
Stern finds home on Tampa Bay airwaves
In the newsReport: CBS may face $550,000 fine for Super Bowl