[opendtv] Re: Opinion: Free at Last?
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 11:11:34 -0400
Craig Birkmaier wrote:
> I got about 152,000 hits for "Abolish the FCC" at Google.
Was any one of those from Mr. Quello? I'm simply saying that you seem to
have projected your agenda on what he said in his opinion piece. Because
abolishing the FCC was absolutely not in there. The whole piece was
about relaxing the controls on broadcasters because there are now so
many other news outlets. Check it again.
Regulation applies to content and to competition. In cases where
competition is difficult to ensure, like OTA broadcasting especially in
the past, or water and sewage service, the govt regulates. In cases
where an industry deals directly with the public, like barbers and
broadcasters, the govt regulates. As we saw with the Janet Jackson
incident, the FCC is perfectly capable of also regulating pay TV media
for content.
> The only reason that OTA TV broadcasting still exists is
> must carry/retrans consent. Without this the networks
> would have pulled the plug on TV broadcasting a long time
> ago. Radio is another matter, as the service is ubiquitous
> and virtually all U.S. citizens use it.
So you say. And yet, if you look at the complaints when OTA stations go
off the air, or if you read the comments at the URL Bob Miller provided
yesterday, you will see that a healthy proportion of TV viewers still
want OTA TV to be there. If for no other reason, cable and DBS viewers
want OTA because they know that their umbillical signals sometimes fail
when they most need them to be there.
So to me, it's a given. Now we need to make it work right. Arguing about
whether OTA TV is necessary becomes an orthogonal discussion. It always
comes across as an attempt to derail what the thread is discussing.
Bert
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