Rick

The FCC was created by the Communications Act of 1934. At that time, the only electronic news/entertainment broadcast medium was radio. This act proceded from both a censorship motivation and considerations that the radio spectrum was limited and therefore the government should control it. This made no sense at the very beginning, and certainly makes no sense today. Everything is limited - farmland, mines, theaters - does that mean the goverment should control them? The frequency spectrum should be considered nothing but property - at this point, the government should auction off the frequencies and that should be the end of its involvement. Of course, broadcasting on someone else's frequency is theft, and the government should be involved in that as for all theft.

This will end the liberal attempt to censor conservative talk radio, or any other political tricks.

Today we have thousands of channels - radio, internet, broadcast TV, cable, satellite -the 1934 act is hopelessly outdated, and its only use now is a mechanism for would-be censors. It should be repealed forthwith.

Scribbler1

Auction them off to who? You KNOW outfits like Clear Channel and others will snap those frequencies up in a heartbeat.

And if the government auctions off the broadcast spectrum, which doesn't belong to them anyway, there will be no chance of small independent community radio stations getting even their little 100 watt stations on the air.

Bad idea.

Free Press : Local Radio Now

__________________
Not a day goes by that I don't see something that reinforces my belief that people are idiots.

perdidochas

The Fairness Doctrine was eliminated in the late 1980s. It hasn't come back yet.

__________________
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
— Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

Rick

So what?

So what?

I await your proof.

Rick

You may be unaware that dems are trying hard to bring it back. As long as the FCC exists, together with the irrational notion that the airwaves are "public", the political tricks and censorship can be implemented at any time.

perdidochas

I am very aware that it can come back and that the dems want it back. That said, the FCC is a necessary evil. It's needed to prevent things like this from happening:

USATODAY.com - Pirate radio interferes with Miami pilots

__________________
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
— Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

Rick

Scuse me, but the FCC goes WAYYYYYYY beyond dealing with such incidents, which can readily be handled by civil and criminal courts - the FCC is not necessary and it's harmful.

Scribbler1

I see corporate America has your heart and mind. Good for you.
But guess what? The PEOPLE are supposed to be the owners of these frequencies. You can have corporate ownership (which really isn't ownership, BTW), but it must also be balanced with the good of the people.
And Clear Channel is a lousy steward of the frequencies they DO control, just as Rupert Murdoch is with other outlets.

The FCC, and therefore the government CONTROLS the airwaves, not OWNS them. The FCC has done a poor job but turning ALL the frequencies over to giant corporations isn't the answer.

__________________
Not a day goes by that I don't see something that reinforces my belief that people are idiots.

rsather139

Ummm, their public and therefore not able to monopolized for a reason. They are people's ability to get most of their information. If one or two intrests owned it, they could dictate what a vast amount of Americans would hear and think, for that matter.

Better to keep airwaves public.

__________________
"It is dangerous to be right on matters where the established authority is wrong."
-Voltaire

Rick

You are mistaking the US for a socialist country - "the people" have no more business owning the transmission frequencies that they do owning Ford or GM.

And I guess YOU or someone like you is going to declare what the "good of the people" is?

Uh, what's the "question"? The government has absolutely no defensible business controlling the airwaves, any more than controlling McDonalds.