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  • From: Edward Wesolowski <edwes AT idisplay.com>
  • To: "Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/" <internetworkers AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [internetworkers] Re: Jon Stewart on Crossfire
  • Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2004 10:34:38 -0400

At 09:51 AM 10/21/2004 -0400, you wrote:
Tony Spencer wrote:
I may be wrong but I don't think it applies to cable. I don't think its
considered public airwaves.

The RF spectrum is public property and is licensed to broadcasters to serve a public purpose as well as for economic development. Cable networks are hard assets and are considered private property, with some limitations. For example, the "must carry" rule requires cable service providers to carry local broadcast stations on their networks. That is believed to be in the public interest, for economic as well as informational reasons.

TaB
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The RF spectrum is public property and is licensed to broadcasters to serve a public purpose as well as for economic development.
Tom: This has always struck me as tricky and peculiar. Traditionally the U.S. government has been adverse to control of such things as the "public" airways. They get into it, but the point of departure has traditionally been the govment shouldn't run stuff like television, like the BBC does. But instead of government control of the public RF spectrum, television and radio channels have been controlled by private, licensee companies.

I wonder if Michael Powell, head of the FCC, might be right and that there's so many channels, as well as the Internet, for getting information out that rules limiting ownership of media outlets by a single company are just outdated? I, too, would like to think this, and that somehow the rules are moot. Truthfully, tho, the Internet appears to have a ways to go (in terms of carrying video, in particular...) to be able to compete w/the "public" airways.
OK, probably this is a digression, but the issue of the "public" airways makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and makes me think of some higher authority overseeing broadcast signals (& maybe even mass distributed cable signals too) and managing these in the "public" interest. (whatever that is!)
Ed W.








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