Conan O’Brien: Why he’s in trouble with the FCC
“Saturday Night Live†alumnus Will Forte stops off at the Cinefamily Theatre in Los Angeles as he promotes his new movie, “Nebraska,†with with Bruce Dern.
(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)Hugh Hefner, who founded Playboy in 1953 and turned it into a multimedia empire, remains the magazine’s editor in chief.
(Liz O. Baylen/Los Angeles Times)Actor Vin Diesel is the producer and star of the sci-fi thriller “Riddick.â€
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)Director Guillermo del Toro, in the mixing studio at Warner Bros. in Burbank, has a new movie coming out called “Pacific Rim,†a shot of which is on in the background, about an alien attack threatening the Earth’s existence. Giant robots piloted by humans are deployed to fight off the menace.
(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)The FCC has gone cuckoo over Coco -- and not in a good way.
The federal agency that regulates the airwaves wants to hit TBS with a $25,000 fine for a promo of Conan O’Brien’s nightly talk show.
The reason? The spot for “Conan†that aired this summer spoofed the Emergency Alert System, which the FCC takes seriously. The EAS -- a successor to the old Emergency Broadcasting System, whose tests would interrupt TV and radio broadcasts -- is designed to ensure that top government officials can communicate directly with the public during national crises or natural disasters.
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The “Conan†promo used the familiar and jarring tones that precede EAS messages -- which is a no-no for the FCC, which helps administer the system.
“Today’s enforcement action sends a strong message: the FCC will not tolerate misuse or abuse of the Emergency Alert System,†FCC official Robert H. Ratcliffe said, according to Broadcasting & Cable.
Turner, which owns TBS, explained that the spot was produced quickly and wasn’t reviewed by the network’s standards and practices department, which typically examines all material that airs for possible FCC violations, according to the B&C story. Some viewers had complained about the promo even before the FCC’s decision.
A Turner spokeswoman said the company would not comment.
What do you think of Conan’s FCC flap?
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Scott Collins is a former staff reporter for the Calendar section of the Los Angeles Times. He joined the staff in 2004 after previous stints at the Hollywood Reporter and Inside.com. Author of the book “Crazy Like a Fox: The Inside Story of How Fox News Beat CNN,†he is a frequent pop-culture expert on national TV, radio shows and industry panels. He left The Times in 2016.