Posted on 05/11/2006 10:27:11 AM PDT by Paul678
More Government Control Over Television Endangers Conservatives
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By Tom Readmond May 10, 2006
Imagine yourself transported into the near future: say, the year 2011. A few well-organized liberal crusaders, incensed by the reduced influence of the liberal media and the emergence of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, successfully lobby a Democratic president’s FCC to harass conservative political shows off the airwaves by levying fines against them for using “inappropriate” language and harboring “adversarial” opinions.
Limbaugh finds himself dropped by broadcasters slapped with federal fines for his “indecent” commentary and Fox News is continually battling a hostile FCC. If this nightmare scenario were to occur, we conservatives would have only ourselves to blame.
The idea that Big Government should determine what each of us can watch is certainly not born of conservative thinking, but unfortunately some are all too tempted to use Government to regulate television. Out of a rightful concern for family values and a well-placed faith in the wisdom of current FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, some conservatives may not be considering the power increased regulation would bestow on a liberal FCC bent on returning control of the media to liberal elites. What will happen if power in Washington shifts, and the Rush-haters and Fox News-bashers are in control?
While we conservatives may object to some, or much, of the programming that comes into our homes, these are decisions for individuals, and not the government, to make. The government and the television industry have rightly done much to help parents identify which shows are appropriate for their family. But if parents decide not to use existing tools like TV ratings, the V-chip, and cable and satellite locks to control what their kids watch, then it is hardly the place of government to impose on them yet another set of standards.
The good news is that new technologies, from digital video recording technology to video iPods to cell phones, may make government efforts to control content obsolete. It doesn’t make sense to rely on an FCC process that is antiquated, cumbersome and often results in sanctions years after a program has aired. One company has already recognized the market advantage of developing a search feature that helps parents find programs specifically designed for children. While that program isn’t markedly different from existing technologies, it’s a promising example of the new market-driven solutions that empower parents, not the government.
The campaign for government control has long-term implications beyond just the debate over the proper role of government in regulating TV content. The pressure on the FCC to dictate standards comes from a small group of individuals who claim to speak for millions of Americans. That’s exactly the kind of outsized influence and big-government thinking that conservatives have been fighting all along. Diminishing the power of Washington bureaucrats to determine entertainment content is an integral part of that same conservative vision – but it’s also much more.
To support increased government control of what’s on TV would be to fail to recognize that American moms and dads are the best arbiters of American family values. By returning the power to decide what to watch on TV, we are in fact insulating American families from the fickle nature of Washington politics. Bureaucrats and politicians, whether they lean left or right, should not be the ones to play parent. Americans simply don’t need a nanny state to dictate their family values.
Tom Readmond serves as executive director of the Media Freedom Project, a project of Americans for Tax Reform in Washington, DC.
I have never heard any conservative espouse the sue of government to control what is seen on TV. Most rescently, the TV series "The Book of Daniel" which was to believed to have inappropriate subject matter was subjected to a boycott. Not for governmental intrusion, but to make people aware so no one would watch it, thus causing low ratings and the network pulling it from the TV schedule. It's using the free market. It's something we still control in this country.
The bottom line is money. If anyone were to make outrageous laws prohibiting what is seen on TV, the networks have enough to pull together quite a powerful lobby to prevent this from happening. All of course provided that they had the backing of the people in the form of ratings which would influence the amount of money they can get from companies who advirtise during shows.
If Rush Limbaugh and Fox News keeping pulling in the ratings that they are currently, there is no way any network would pull them off of the air, depsite the amount of fines one accrues from the FCC. Howard Stern is a perfect example of this. How many fines over the eyars dfid he recieve, yet he remained on the air for so long because of the ratings.
Conservatives do not want more government. Let the market dictate. If it something we don't approve, voice your opinion by changing the channel.
Bravo!!!! That was an excellent statement!
Thanks!
Doesn't the FCC only cover broadcast channels, and wouldn't cable be excluded. So fox news has nothing to worry about.
It's the jerks who drop the nuclear F-Bombs in the middle of family hour at issue, not stupid and lazy parents.
The exapnsion of government power to control speech never ultimately benefits conservatives - such gains are illusions.
Changing the channel or turning off the TV are certainly options. However, individuals also have the ratings and content-blocking tools to make and enforce their own viewing decisions. This, along with your solid free market rationale of course, renders government regulation of TV unnecessary and undesirable.
Check out TV Watch at www.televisionwatch.org for a voice of reason and balance in this debate.
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