Posted on 10/31/2011 1:22:24 PM PDT by kcvl
If a church broadcasts the word of God on TV without closed captions, it risks incurring the wrath of the FCC.
Some 300 small- to medium-sized churches can expect letters from the commission within the next few days explaining why their closed captioning exemptions were lifted for TV shows like “Power in the Word” and “Producing Kingdom Citizens.”
The FCC has been mailing the letters for the past few days to churches from Maine to California, explaining that the hundreds of exemptions are now rescinded and giving the programmers 90 days to reapply.
The churches were granted FCC exemptions from the closed captioning requirement under a 2006 commission decision known as the “Anglers Order” for the Anglers for Christ Ministries program that had argued for exemption from the rules.
While the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau used the Anglers Order as the model to grant at least 298 other exemptions, the full commission overturned that decision Oct. 20 after objections were raised from a coalition of organizations for the deaf and hard of hearing.
The churches may still be eligible to win an exemption from the rules if they can prove they can’t afford closed captioning, but they now have to make their case individually.
“This was a process that went awry,” said Craig Parshall, senior vice president of the National Religious Broadcasters, an international association of Christian communicators. “Now, we are going back to Square One.”
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
Ah, our government.
There’s no limit to the stupidity which can be achieved when we allow folks with no education (e.g., degrees in law, sociology, political “science”, etc.)to try what is - in essence - control theory.
The law of unintended consequences strikes those of all mental levels, but it is particularly cruel to the weak-minded.
Sooner or later, we’re going to have to just say “No”...or better yet, say “Shove it up your smelly Obama, government jerkoffs.”
1. This does not impact cable TV shows.
2. It’s typical anti-Christian behavior from the FCC.
Wonder how Muslim programming is affected - if at all?
Exactly!
As a deaf person, this is something that’s near and dear to my heart. I love closed captioning. As much as I would love it if every program had it, it’s not right to force anybody to put it on.
The FCC should back off here. Or better yet, someone step up to sponsor it.
If I were one of them, I’d add closed captioning but the text would be total nonsense, just random letters. When the FCC asked, I’d just explain that the captions were speaking in tongues.
Religious freedom!
lol
‘________speaking in tongues.’
PWAAHAhahahahahaha!!!
You know, they could go after a few channels, given how much of their programming is not CC. MANY times my mom gets movies, either free or not, from her provider (Comcast) that say they are CC, and they are not.
(She is 100% deaf in one ear and 60% in the other, IIRC. Even with a top notch hearing aid, she has a lot of troble hearing)
This leftist administration is insane.
You know, so many DEAF people complain about those religious broadcasts...I am SO glad the FCC has decided to put the HAMMER down on the worshippers of Jesus.
Oh, wait, reverse that.
Bottom line is that the body of Christ does more for the deaf community in one week than the entire FCC apparatus does in an entire decade.
Big government: this idiotic rule is just one more reason to despise the whole idea.
As for operators: do you see an embarrassment of possible operators? Just look at all the people, texting. They are already used to the game. You don't need a stenographer. Indeed, if you just feed the speaker's note through, you got it.
Now, I'm not cool with the idea of saying one thing this year and another next year just because someone got an upset stomach at breakfast. Especially as this would affect small, independent congresses of worshipers who don't have a lot of kids willing to work, or deep-pocket contributors, who look to television to provide outreach to sick or infirmed members.
I'm torn between the needs of the differently abled and the ability to worship as I please (within the bounds of not hurting people outside the congregation).
so much for freedom of speech
I would interpret this as a test case for the ADA (Americans with Disability Act) Lobby. If they can force ever smaller segments to justify exemptions, you add more organizations to the pool of potential offenders. The very definition of a test case.
There’s the problem. James Madison wrote “Congress shall make no law...” when he needed to write “Neither Congress nor any agency of the federal government shall make any law...”
They should use the old Weekend Update for the deaf routine from Saturday Night Live.
But the agency’s powers derive from laws made by Congress therefore the FCC’s actions are still unconstitutional.
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