Photo: Justin Timberlake reaches across Janet Jackson during their performance at Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston, Feb. 1, 2004. Photo credits AP.

Federal regulators on Wednesday fined CBS a record $550,000 for Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction," which exposed the singer's breast during this year's Super Bowl halftime show. The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to slap each of the 20 CBS-owned television stations with the maximum indecency penalty of $27,500. The total penalty of $550,000 is the largest fine levied against a television broadcaster. Most of the FCC's bigger fines have been against radio stations. The commission decided not to fine CBS' more than 200 affiliate stations, which also aired the show but are not owned by the network's parent company, Viacom. MTV, a Viacom subsidiary, produced the Feb. 1 halftime show, which featured Jackson and singer Justin Timberlake performing a racy duet. At the end, Timberlake ripped off a piece of Jackson's black leather top, exposing her right breast to a TV audience of about 90 million. Timberlake blamed a "wardrobe malfunction," and CBS was quick to apologize to viewers. The breast-baring song generated a record number of complaints to the FCC -- more than 500,000. Viacom has said it will fight any fines levelled against its stations for the Jackson performance. Over the summer, Viacom co-president Leslie Moonves said a fine would be "grossly unfair" and promised a court challenge. Federal law bars radio and non-cable television stations from airing references to sexual and excretory functions between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when children may be tuning in. Once a complaint is made to the FCC, the agency determines whether the broadcast was indecent. Within days of the Jackson incident, lawmakers on Capitol Hill began grumbling about smut on TV, and both houses passed legislation -- still pending in Congress -- that would raise indecency fines. The House has voted to raise the maximum indecency fine to $500,000. The Senate voted to increase the top fine to $275,000 per indecent incident, with a cap of $3 million per day.

 The FCC launched a crackdown on indecency soon after the Super Bowl, resulting in several high-profile fines. Among them: a $755,000 fine against Clear Channel for graphic drug and sex talk on a Bubba the Love Sponge radio program and a record $1.75 million fine, also against Clear Channel, for indecency complaints against Howard Stern and other radio personalities. Television networks also began taking pre-emptive action by implementing broadcast delays so censors could scrub anything deemed too racy. CBS, for example, aired the Grammy awards ceremony a week after the Super Bowl with a five-second delay. More recently, the NFL kicked off its season with a live, pre-game show on ABC that was aired with a 10-second delay. AP.

Billy Joel says hello to Hollywood

Photo: Billy Joel leans down and touches his new star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Photo credits: Chris Pizzel.

Billy Joel wrote the song, Say Goodbye to Hollywood. On Monday, he joked he'd never leave. "It looks like I'm always going be here," Joel said after his sidewalk star was unveiled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. "I have to tell you that I had not considered this when I wrote Say Goodbye to Hollywood." Joel's plaque was placed on Hollywood Boulevard in front of the Pantages Theatre, where the Tony Award-winning musical based on his songs, Movin' Out, is playing through Oct. 31. Joel, 55, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, lived in suburban Santa Monica early in his career. The pianist, singer and composer recalled walking along Hollywood Boulevard and "looking at all these names and not having a clue that I'd be here doing this." Joel has had more than two dozen Top 10 hits in his career, including 1974's signature song Piano Man, which he said he wrote in California.

MORE NEXT