When Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson’s breast to a national television audience on Super Bowl Sunday, Federal Communications Chairman Michael Powell knew he had his work cut out for him.

“I sat there with my kids on my left and on my right and I couldn’t believe I saw what I saw,” Powell told an audience Friday at the Dole Institute of Politics. “Then we started debating what I saw, and all I knew at that moment was that I had a long day ahead of me tomorrow.

“But five minutes after that, I had no doubts about what I had to do.”

What Powell and the FCC did was launch an investigation to determine if the two pop singers and CBS had violated federal decency laws that govern broadcasters.

But he didn’t stop there. During his Lawrence visit, Powell, flanked by his political ally U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, said the government must launch a serious study about the effects of sexually oriented television programming on children.

“I still think we have a civilized society that wants some limits,” Powell said.

Powell was in Lawrence to deliver the keynote address at the Kansas Rural Stakeholder Summit at the Dole Institute. But the tawdry Super Bowl halftime show was a frequent topic of conversation.

Both Powell and Brownback said they supported legislation that would allow the FCC to increase its fines for violating the decency act from $27,500 to $275,000.

“We all believe in the First Amendment, but there have been bounds that have been crossed,” Brownback said. “People are fed up. They want to be able to watch the Super Bowl without having to flip it off all the time.”

Michael Powell, Federal Communications Commission chairman, left, speaks at an FCC Kansas Broadband Technology Summit at the Dole Institute of Politics at Kansas University. With him Friday, at right, is U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.

Brownback said he was convinced that scientific studies — similar to those that have been conducted on the effect of TV violence on children — should be done to determine how sexually oriented programming is affecting children.

“We have an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases in this country,” Brownback said. “We don’t have the evidence that this television programming is connected to that, but we’re going to do the research.”

Powell also backs the studies but said parents must take more responsibility in controlling what their children watch. He said he has TiVo, a digital recording device, and only lets his children view shows that he has recorded for them.

“It takes a lot of work, but I’m afraid the era of passive television is gone,” Powell said.

Powell also said he still was researching the possibility of individually fining Timberlake and Jackson for their parts in the halftime show.

“It’s an open question,” Powell said.

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