OK, here's a nickel's worth of sympathy for CBS, which it can apply toward its FCC fines: The sleazy world of modern network television wasn't created by CBS, although it certainly must shoulder some of the blame. But the networks are in an impossible situation. They broadcast on publicly owned airwaves, yet are forced to earn a living in an increasingly crude marketplace. And their share of that marketplace is falling rapidly. As soon as Janet Jackson's 1 1/2 second exposure went off the air, it became the most downloaded item in internet history. CBS provides the titillation, then one of its prime competitors cashes in, and CBS is left catching the heat.

The self-righteous Michael Powell bears more of the blame than CBS. He is presiding over the tranformation of the airwaves from a publicly owned trust to the private property of a few mega-conglomerates with no values other than the bottom line. Having made that decision, it's a bit late in the game to get prissy about what those bottom-line entertainment values really are.