Family TV Goes Down the Tube; Yes, Janet Jackson was tacky, but then it's been years since some parents felt safe channel-surfing with their kids. Can hearings really help?

Publication: Newsweek

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Byline: Marc Peyser, With Pat Wingert, Karen Springen, Devin Gordon and Jac Chebatoris

Mel Karmazin and Paul Tagliabue are not the kind of guys who get chewed out very often. Karmazin is the president and COO of Viacom, parent of CBS and MTV. Tagliabue is the commissioner of the NFL. You want a piece of them? Actually, yes. They were the star witnesses last week at a Capitol Hill hearing on decency in broadcasting, and more than 30 congressmen lined up to take a shot at the men many hold responsible for the Super Bowl, Janet Jackson and her breast. Rep. Mary Bono, who knows a thing or two about Hollywood, said the show was deplorable. Rep. Heather Wilson was almost in tears describing her fourth-grade son's watching halftime. But the most trenchant complaint came from Rep. Charles Pickering. A father of five, Pickering said that he was just as angry about the commercials. Not the infamous spots featuring flatulent animals. He meant CBS's ad for its own show "Two and a Half Men." "A woman comes into the kitchen and reaches up, exposing her entire back end to an 8-year-old boy, who then turns and says, 'Wow'," Pickering said, glaring at Karmazin. "Is that...

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