Media Regulation Walter Foreman

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Media Regulation Walter Foreman

• Why does the government control what you see on
  TV?
• Regulating Broadcast Programming (1994). Thomas
  G. Krattenmaker Lucas A. Powe, Jr.
• Notes resources available on my website
• Outline
• 1. A brief history of media regulation
• 2. Some ramifications of media regulation
• 3. The governments perspective on media
  regulation
• 4. Questions for you / from you

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Titanic The biggest thing in media twice.

• The movie
• Released December 19, 1997
• Total US Gross600,788,188 (600 Million)
• Production Budget200,000,000 (200 Million)
• Prints and Advertising Budget20,000,000 (20
  Million)
• Worldwide Gross1,835,400,000 (1.835 Billion)
• The Radio Act of 1912
• The federal government would control
  broadcasting. No one could broadcast without a
  license.
• The broadcasting spectrum (ether) would be
  allocated among uses and users
• Some communication was more important than
  others, and the government would determine which
  was which
• During a time of war the Navy was authorized to
  seize any and all radio apparatus.

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The sequel Two thumbs up!

• The 1927 Radio Act
• No private ownership of the airwaves
• Judging standard the public good
• What the critics said
• the one principle ... that must always be
  adhered to, as basic and fundamental, is that
  government must always retain complete and
  absolute control of the right to use the air
• Of one thing I am absolutely certain. Uncle Sam
  should not only police this new beat he should
  see to it that no one uses it who does not
  promise to be good and well-behaved.

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This film has not been classified What about
censorship?

• Section 29 prohibits censorship but
• censorship of the most extraordinary kind
• there is no room for you
• the Commission must determinewhich
  applicants will, if licensed, serve the public

Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil

• Media regulation presupposes that, without a
  federal watchdog, listeners and viewers would not
  get the proper mix of culture, information,
  education, and entertainment without media
  regulation, broadcasting would be all sex, drugs,
  and rock-and-roll.

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Is that your final answer?

• What if we applied the same level of regulation
  that exists in television to print?
• Is media regulation impeding competition and
  innovation, and has this indeed become its
  principal if unstated function?
• Is regulation inhibiting the dissemination of
  ideas and information through the media?
• Does the licensing regime for the electromagnetic
  spectrum allocate that resource to its most
  productive uses?
• www-personal.usyd.edu.au/walterf

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Questions for today and tomorrow

• Is federal telecommunications regulation impeding
  competition and innovation, and has this indeed
  become its principal if unstated function?
• Is regulation inhibiting the dissemination of
  ideas and information through the media?
• Does the licensing regime for the electromagnetic
  spectrum allocate that resource to its most
  productive uses?
• www-personal.usyd.edu.au/walterf