The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather just reported that CBS, the NFL and TV station managers across the country are outraged and apologetic.
Michael Powell, chairman of the FCC, vows an investigation into this violation of the "sacred" time period set aside for children.
Why? At half-time in the Super Bowl, viewers saw one of Janet Jackson’s breasts.
Of course, the Super Bowl is more than a football game. For years, it’s been intertwined with beer, military might and sex. (Ah, to be a master of geometry and measure the gap between cheerleaders’ cleavage and Jackson’s exposed mammary gland.)
But back to outrage. CBS is not outraged by its "reality" TV. Nor by prostituting its morning news show to publicize various "Survivors" and such.
The NFL still uses artificial playing surfaces that expose players to injury and is less than Draconian in punishing players who use illegal or unhealthy drugs.
Station managers rarely, if ever, get upset when their local news shows contain little or no news.
And Michael Powell feels no outrage as fewer media moguls control the information and entertainment available to most Americans. In fact, Powell pushes for more concentration.
But a breast outrages them. Of course it does. What better way to tilillate, to distract the audience from their own shoddiness.
PS I suspect the incident was no accident.
PPS Having left home for a rehearsal at the end of the first half, I missed Janet busting out all over.
Darn.