Commentary

How To Catch A Fleeting Expletive

  • by , Op-Ed Contributor, November 11, 2008

Don't know.
Never been caught -- though sighted, cited but not convicted.
Supreme Court orally arguing.
First time in 30 years.
Broadcast indecency standards.



"And that's why birds do it, bees do it

Even educated fleas do it

I'm sure sometimes on the sly you do it

Maybe even you and I might do it"
-- Cole Porter's "Let's Do It"

Let's review who did it:

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What does the FCC about it:

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What does the Broadcasters and Courts about it:

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What should the FCC do about it:

Concentrate on the litany of attempts by the governing parties to regulate, de-regulate and/or re-regulate the media that might make a significant contribution to the freedom of media consumption and quality of media life issues in the U.S., such as the following unresolved biggies (in non-hierarchical order):

  • multiple ownership of TV stations in the same market

  • national television station ownership (single market and multiple)

  • dual broadcast network ownership

  • broadcast/ newspaper/ radio cross ownership

  • v-chip utilization/ parental controls

  • radio station group ownership (single market and multiple)

  • cable systems operators ownership of programming on their systems

  • cable systems operators and broadcast stations cross ownership

  • cable systems operators penetration of national viewership

  • satellite operators ownership programming on their system

  • satellite operators and broadcast stations cross ownership

  • satellite subscription fees

  • satellite/ cable/ broadcast cross ownership

  • telco/ cable/ satellite cross ownership

  • net neutrality

  • the nation's transition from analog to digital broadcasting

  • enforcing cable card deployment

  • must carry broadcast transmissions for all digital terrestrial channels

  • program availability via fair and equitable licensing arrangements

  • the sanctity of copyright

  • the efficacy of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

  • cable subscription pricing: a la carte vs. package

  • internet access pricing by bandwidth usage and justification of pricing tiers

  • "White Space" exploitation and interference with broadcast signals

  • personal identifiable information transgressions both online and on television

  • remote programming storage

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