Posted on 12/07/2010 11:47:59 AM PST by thouworm
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) pushed back on Monday against a contention by a Democratic FCC commissioner that the government should create new regulations to promote diversity in news programming.
Barton was reacting to a proposal made last week by FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, who in a speech suggested that broadcasters be subject to a new "public values test" every four years.
"I hope … that you do not mean to suggest that it is the job of the federal government, through the [FCC], to determine the content that is available for Americans to consume,” Barton wrote Monday in a letter to Copps.
Copps had suggested that the test would make a broadcaster's license renewal contingent upon proof that they meet a prospective set of federal criteria.
He said outlets should be mandated to do the following: prove they have made a meaningful commitment to public affairs and news programming, prove they are committed to diversity programming (for instance, by showing that they depict women and minorities), report more to the government about which shows they plan to air, require greater disclosure about who funds political ads and devote 25 percent of their prime-time coverage to local news.
The regulations would apply to all news outlets operating on the public airwaves.
In his letter, Barton questioned whether Copps believes the government should reinstate the defunct Fairness Doctrine, a controversial standard that required broadcast licensees to offer "balanced" coverage. Critics saw it as an affront to free speech.
Barton also asked whether "five commissioners can do a better job of ensuring that Americans have access to a wide diversity of content and viewpoints than Americans can themselves by expressing their preferences ... in the vigorously competitive marketplace."
The Federal Communications Commission has an ongoing project about media diversity that promises to issue a report on whether Americans have access to adequate sources of news, but the effort has come under strong criticism and the FCC has not stated when the report will be released.
Barton pushing back for freedom of the press.
Comments at source article are worthwhile (275 since yesterday and counting...)
Rhetorical Question: Is it possible that the new Al "Barry, no errand is beneath me" Sharpton attack on "racist" Rush Limbaugh was coordinated with yet another BHO-administration attack on freedom of the press and airwaves?
Finally, it is instructive to look at the FR search items on Michael Copps and Copps:
THEY never give up; neither should we.
bttt
bump
They must think that they will NEVER be out of power and in a position to have this used against them. What fools.
Prove this and prove that. I think Copps should have to prove he's not a socialist.
Oh he should have to prove that he knows the Constitution, what it says and what it means.
FCC Wants More Ethnic Diversity On Airwaves (More end runs on freedoms)
FCC Commissioner Calls For Greater Regulation of News Media
FCC Commissioner Tells BBC: “American Media Has A Bad Case Of Substance Abuse”
(FCC's) Copps calls for "public value test" for American media
FCC Commissioner Wants to Control the Content of Broadcast Media
And let's not forget how busy his boss [FCC chairman Julius Genachowski] has been of late:
Obama Socialist Regime Moves For Control of the Internet
Sources: FCC chief working on net neutrality proposal
Genachowski's frequent treks to White House (FCC Chairman)
Should an Independent Regulatory Agency Head Be Visiting the White House This Often?
That would be great! I'm all for it.
< /sarcasm off >
;-\
Good for Joe Barton! Maybe he’ll lead the way for the House to defund the commie FCC. Thanks for posting.
This gave me an idea for a way to persuade some people
I will urge them to start noticing who uses the words MANDATE and BAN most often.
FCC: Defund and refund.
Obama to Tap Tech Adviser as FCC Chief
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Keeper of Secrets???"
HARVARD:
Julius Genachowski, a classmate of Obama in law school who was former chief of council to the FCC, has been selected as one of the leaders of a group that will work on technology, innovation, and government reform for the administration, including net neutrality.
The Harvard Law School alumus has often been named as one of the top candidates for FCC chairman under the Obama administration.
Genachowski is credited with recommending that Obama use the power of the internet to organize support and is an advisor on the Obama-Biden Transition Project Advisory Board.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Julius Genachowski --- Columbia and Harvard
Jan 13, 2009
This time, the post is chairman of the FCC, which has been in censorship overdrive ever since Janet-Jackson-boob-gate, and the nominee is Julius Genachowski, CC '85.
Genachowski not only overlapped with Obama's two years at Columbia, but also was his Harvard law school classmate, working under Obama at the Harvard Law Review. He has already served as General Consul Counsel to the FCC in the mid 90s, but is in fact best known for his technology experience, including "spearheading Obama's online campaign strategy, which used social networking and other tools to spread Obama's campaign message and raise record campaign contributions."
Few people realize Genachowski was at both Columbia College and Harvard with Obama.
Julius Genachowski
***Genachowski not only overlapped with Obama's two years at Columbia College (class of '85), but also was his Harvard law school classmate, working under Obama at the Harvard Law Review (as notes editor).
***Genachowski is credited for spearheading Obama's online campaign strategy, which used social networking and other tools to spread Obama's campaign message and raise record campaign contributions. WaPo
***He was a top bundler for Obama (over $500,000)
Net Neutrality For Campaign Donors ( Top Donor awarded FCC chairman position )
***Proponent of Net Neutrality During the campaign Mr. Genachowski shaped many of Mr. Obama’s telecommunications and technology policies. He advocated an open Internet in the debate over so-called net neutrality, and media ownership rules that promoted a diversity of voices on the airwaves. NYT
Over the last decade, the chairman of the F.C.C. has played a more expansive role in regulating the economy, particularly with the rise of the Internet and wireless communications. Now, as the new administration plans to make the expansion of broadband and Internet services a significant part of its stimulus package, Mr. Genachowski, with his close ties to Mr. Obama, could have a larger role in shaping economic policy than many of his predecessors. NYT
BIO Highlights
Born August 19, 1962, Genachowski, the son of Eastern European Jews who fled during the Holocaust, grew up in Great Neck, NY. His father, having fled Nazi-occupied Belgium came to the US and studied engineering at MIT.
Genachowski attended yeshiva (Jewish religious school) through high school and studied in Israel before enrolling in Columbia College.
After receiving his BA in history, magna cum laude, in 1985, Genachowski decided to postpone law school and go to work for then-Congressman Charles Schumer (D-NY). His time on Capitol Hill also included work on the staff of the special Congressional committee investigating the Iran-Contra Affair.
Upon receiving his JD in 1991, magna cum laude, from Harvard, he married that same year Boston journalist Martha Raddatz (who was previously married to Ben Bradlee III, son of the longtime Washington Post editor, Ben Bradlee). They later divorced.
Genachowski's first position was as clerk for Judge Abner J. Mikva of the United States Court of Appeals. Mr. Obama had turned down a clerkship with Judge Mikva.
Mr. Genachowski later clerked for Supreme Court Justices William J. Brennan Jr. and David H. Souter.
He was chief counsel to Reed Hundt, an F.C.C. chairman during the Clinton administration.
He then worked for eight years as a senior executive at the IAC/Interactive Corporation, run by Barry Diller.
He also founded Rock Creek Ventures, an investment and advisory firm for digital media companies and co-founded the country’s first commercial “green” bank.
Genachowski is currently married to Rachel Goslins, a copyright-lawyer-turned documentary filmmaker. The couple has two children and Genachowski has a son from his first marriage.
SOURCES: NYT, AllGov, Muckety, USA Today
Last item here from my post #351 on MestaMachine's superlative Threat Matrix Thread
That’s why, for years, they have been desperately trying to paint Limbaugh as racist, so they could use cries of “racism” to take him off the air.
This might have had some logical reason behind it 50 years ago when there were only three major news sources besides newspapers. One or two corporations could change public discourse based on their biases. Hearst’s bias got marijuana banned and with Pulitzer he helped start the Spanish-American war.
Now you have the Internet. There’s no longer much of a barrier to entry, look what the tiny little Drudge Report did way back when it was run from Drudge’s apartment. People can readily get news from thousands of sources, with thousands of different commentary on it, instantly.
Any further attempt to introduce it is simply for reasons of political power, to define “neutral” as left-leaning.
This episode of “Diversity Now” brought to you by the Monochrome Coalition...
PING!
Thanks for the Genachowski bio.
“brought to you by the Monochrome Coalition...”
LOL; “Ain’t” that the truth!
FYI - keeper-of-lists ping.
You may be interested in this one. They’re not going to give up. Like Obamacare, it’s necessary to the totalitarian/fascist state.
Interesting thought; may make a good thread, if you were so inclined. Please ping me if you do.
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