WASHINGTON, D.C. – As expected, President Bush appointed 38 year-old former attorney and anti-indecency crusader Kevin Martin to head the Federal Communications Commission as its new chairman. Martin, who formerly worked for the Bush-Cheney campaign, will replace outgoing chairman Michael Powell, who often clashed with his younger successor.”I am deeply honored to have been designated as the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, and I thank President Bush for this distinct privilege,” Martin said.
Even though outgoing chairman Powell has been widely criticized for his “crackdown” on “indecency” following the Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident, the incoming Martin has argued that the FCC has not gone far enough to fight indecency. Martin cast a dissenting vote in an FCC ruling earlier this year that cleared an ABC broadcast of the Academy Award winning film Saving Private Ryan of indecency fines.
“We may be interpreting the (indecency) statute too narrowly,” Martin wrote in a letter to the Parents Television Council. “We also may need to enforce our rules more stringently.”
L. Brent Bozell III, President of the Parents Television Council, endorsed Martin for the chairman position in January.
Pro-censorship grounds applauded Martin’s appointment.
“Commissioner Martin is the man we backed because he has a consistent and strong track record of decency enforcement,” said Jan LaRue, chief counsel for the censorship group Concerned Women for America. “He has been a champion of cleaning up the filth in broadcasting, and being chairman will only further posture him to do just that. We have repeatedly urged our 500,000 constituents to flood the White House with calls urging the President to choose Kevin Martin for this essential role.”
Martin’s appointment was met with some criticism.
“They have succeeded in establishing a new ‘litmus’ test for the FCC chair — someone who will be at the forefront of monitoring programming,” said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy.
