ENTERTAINMENT 2004: NFL, SEXY WOMEN MAKE WAVES ON TV 'WARDROBE MALFUNCTION' PROMPTS APOLOGIES, RECORD FCC FINE.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer

What is it with attractive women's apparent inability to keep their clothes on around NFL players?

If two incidents make a trend, then we have pop star Janet Jackson and actress Nicollette Sheridan to blame (or thank) for this one. And theirs are only two of several instances this year in which broadcasters sparked controversy.

When the National Football League and CBS announced that MTV would produce the halftime show at Super Bowl XXXVIII, MTV President Van Toffler promised ``an event that the Super Bowl audience will remember for years to come.'' It certainly lived up to the hype when, during a duet of ``Rock Your Body'' - which ends with ``gotta have you naked by the end of this song'' - Justin Timberlake ripped Jackson's leather bustier, exposing one of her breasts and its sun-shape nipple hardware to some 90 million viewers.

The incident inspired a new catch phrase - ``wardrobe malfunction'' - assorted mea culpas and pointed fingers, and a record $550,000 indecency fine assessed CBS by the Federal Communications Commission, or $27,500 for each of the network's 20 owned stations. CBS is fighting the fine.

Last month, ABC was in hot water over a promotional gimmick involving Sheridan, a star of the network's saucy series ``Desperate Housewives,'' and Philadelphia Eagles receiver Terrell Owens. In a videotaped sketch preceding the kickoff of the Nov. 15 ``Monday Night Football'' game, Sheridan was seen wrapped in a towel, persuading Owens to skip the game and stay with her in the locker room. With her back to the camera, she dropped the towel and appeared to be nude.

In the wake of the Jackson incident, the FCC, which had been focusing on media-ownership issues, went back into the business of policing the airwaves. Networks and station owners either recoiled in fear of sanctions or found opportunities to complain publicly about FCC watchdogging.

The most prominent case was ABC's tradition of airing ``Saving Private Ryan'' around Veterans Day. Under conditions set by director Steven Spielberg, the film must be aired uncut, so several affiliates pulled the World War II drama, fearing that regulators would cite them for the bits of profanity in its dialogue. The same stations had aired the film in the past with no complaints from the same FCC commissioners.

The memory of the Fairness Doctrine, which went down in Reagan-era deregulation, was raised in October when a film attacking Sen. John Kerry's Vietnam War protests was picked up by Sinclair Broadcast Group, with a corporate directive that all its stations air it in prime time, which many viewed as a violation of equal-time requirements. Protests from Kerry's presidential campaign, online petitions and threats of advertiser boycotts prompted Sinclair to pull ``Stolen Honor'' and instead put together a news special that included scenes from the film in a discussion of politics and the media.

In November, Dan Rather announced that he would step down next March from the anchor desk at ``The CBS Evening News,'' a few months after the newscast was embarrassed by reporting about President George W. Bush's National Guard service based on what turned out to be falsified documents. The timing of Rather's departure and the fact that CBS had not groomed a successor suggested that the National Guard story was at least partly responsible for the decision.

Pop singer Ashlee Simpson made headlines in November for her nonperformance on ``Saturday Night Live.'' At the start of her second song, a tape of the first number mistakenly came up - complete with Simpson's vocals - effectively exposing the wizard behind the curtain. The show cut to a commercial, and Simpson later blamed her drummer. ``SNL'' made hay - and probably guaranteed that Simpson won't be back - by repeating the episode earlier this month.

At Christmastime, the United Church of Christ hoped to air a commercial promoting its policy of welcoming all worshippers, including gay couples. While the ad was accepted on cable channels, NBC and CBS refused to carry the spot, characterizing it as too controversial in a time when gay marriage is a hot-button issue. CBS also said it does not carry commercials that endorse a specific religion.

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(color) Billed as a half-time show viewers would ``remember for years to come,'' Janet Jackson's duet with Justin Timberlake ended with Timberlake ripping Jackson's leather bustier, exposing one of her breasts and its sun-shaped nipple hardware to an audience of 90 million.

Associated Press