The FCC's enforcement bureau officially confirmed that it has initiated enforcement actions on complaints about indecency, according to Broadcasting & Cable. A batch of TV fines and complaint dismissals have been in the works for several months, but B&C says a radio batch is soon to follow.

Last year, for the first time in recent memory, the FCC proposed no indecency fines against broadcasters. National Association Of Broadcasters Joint Board Chairman Bruce Reese even highlighted this point at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on indecency just last week. But B&C points out that one reason no actions were taken last year is because a lot of the complaints went away. A number of major media companies, including Viacom, Clear Channel and Emmis, had already settled proposed fines and outstanding complaints through consent decrees with cash and pledges to crack down on content.

Still, 189,362 complaints were filed in 2005, and those complaints were against 720 broadcast and cable programs. Only 84 of those 2005 complaints were against cable shows, but that is still more than double the previous high of 38 in 2002, says B&C. Most of those complaints came from the Parent's Television Council. The package of TV proposed fines and denials is said to be a combination of denials and proposed fines that, taken together and signed off on by the commissioners, are meant to provide a better guide of what the FCC finds indecent.