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FCC push to regulate news draws fire
Hillicon Valley (The Hill) ^ | 12-06-10 | Sara Jerome

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.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: copp; copps; fairnessdoctrine; fcc; genachowski; joebarton; juliusgenachowski; michaelcopp; michaelcopps; texas
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To: AdmSmith; Arthur Wildfire! March; Berosus; bigheadfred; ColdOne; Convert from ECUSA; Delacon; ...

Thanks thouworm.
21 posted on 12/07/2010 9:04:48 PM PST by SunkenCiv (The 2nd Amendment follows right behind the 1st because some people are hard of hearing.)
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a contention by a Democratic FCC commissioner that the government should create new regulations to promote diversity in news programming
Maybe requiring Fox to fire Juan Williams?
Fairness Doctrine is Fascism

22 posted on 12/07/2010 9:09:03 PM PST by SunkenCiv (The 2nd Amendment follows right behind the 1st because some people are hard of hearing.)
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To: thouworm

Great post. Thank you.


23 posted on 12/08/2010 4:02:40 AM PST by Arthur Wildfire! March (George Washington: [Government] is a dangerous servant and a terrible master.)
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To: thouworm; Jeff Head; Impy; TigersEye; floriduh voter; snippy_about_it; ovrtaxt; syriacus; ...

Outstanding research, Thouworm, in Post 8. Regarding this:

FCC Commissioner Wantsto Test the ‘Public Value’of Every Broadcast Station
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2636941/posts

[QUOTE]

“...and to bolster ‘traditional media...’”

[Unquote]

Digging Deep updated ...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2636478/posts?page=66#66


24 posted on 12/08/2010 6:06:15 AM PST by Arthur Wildfire! March (George Washington: [Government] is a dangerous servant and a terrible master.)
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To: Arthur Wildfire! March

Gotta keep dem buggy whip manufacturers in bidness...


25 posted on 12/08/2010 6:27:11 AM PST by null and void (We are now in day 686 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
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To: null and void; thouworm

“Where’s the slot to insert the tape?”

Regarding FCC, DU has been locking dissents against BO like crazy:

DUmmie FUnnies 12-06-10 (Obama tax cuts the last straw for DUmmies! DUmmieland in Meltdown Mode!)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2638567/posts

For a leader to successfully block free speech, he needs one of three things: a popular following that is willing to parrot every slander he utters [not a majority, but a powerful minority, such as the Brown Shirts], massive support in the military, [Hitler had a little of both], or the power to assassinate and/or destroy with impunity [such as Stalin, Mussolini, and Mao]. Otherwise, his regime collapses. I don’t see Obama or any democrat filling any of those shoes.


26 posted on 12/08/2010 7:08:27 AM PST by Arthur Wildfire! March (George Washington: [Government] is a dangerous servant and a terrible master.)
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To: thouworm; Arthur Wildfire! March

Related threads (I have since added the keywords “copps” and “michael copps” to all the threads below.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
She says her bill HR 3924 would prohibit the FCC from moving forward on the issue. 3:24 - 3:30
They will go after the policy and block FCC from taking action.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn Freedom Watch 12/03/10: FCC’s Net Neutrality

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UogrD13z1do


27 posted on 12/08/2010 7:24:20 AM PST by Whenifhow
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To: Arthur Wildfire! March
Thank you, AW! M.
For later reading.
28 posted on 12/08/2010 8:28:21 AM PST by MaggieCarta (Reigning Princess of "PDS" - Porter, Dark mild, Stout. I'm talkin' beer, here, people. [English Ale])
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To: thouworm
Oh, yeah, I see absolutely no First Amendment problem here... nope... none...

Unelected and officiously intermeddling ninnies.

29 posted on 12/08/2010 8:42:31 AM PST by MaggieCarta (Reigning Princess of "PDS" - Porter, Dark mild, Stout. I'm talkin' beer, here, people. [English Ale])
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To: Arthur Wildfire! March

“Public values”

Code for liberalism?


30 posted on 12/08/2010 4:57:24 PM PST by Impy (Don't call me red.)
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To: Arthur Wildfire! March
Here's a great proposal on how to get ahead of these tyrants and remedy this problem early, nip it in the bud.

Government Regulatory Reform
31 posted on 12/08/2010 7:01:13 PM PST by orinoco
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To: All

Bump


32 posted on 12/09/2010 6:23:16 AM PST by orinoco
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To: thouworm

No. 124 Neutralism: The Strange Philosophy Behind the Movement for Net Neutrality
Policy Studies > 2009

Written By: James G. Lakely
Publisher: The Heartland Institute The election of Barack Obama as president ushered in a new era of regulatory zeal in Washington, with both Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) determined to solve alleged problems with access to and management of the Internet. Advocates of “network neutrality” have the federal government’s ear and seem closer than at times past to achieving their goal of greater government control over the Internet. Their success would change the online experience of every American.

This study examines the philosophy that underlies the movement for network neutrality, which telecom expert Scott Cleland has dubbed “neutralism.” Neutralism stands in striking contrast to the innocuous-sounding Internet “freedom” its advocates call for. Understanding neutralism helps explain why network neutrality would have consequences that are quite the opposite of what its proponents claim. Not all advocates of network neutrality believe in neutralism, and some aren’t even aware that the policy arose from such a strange philosophy. One purpose of this paper is to inform those neutrality advocates of the radical agenda they have unwittingly bought into.

http://www.heartland.org/publications/policy%20studies/article/26061/


33 posted on 12/09/2010 6:59:40 AM PST by anglian
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