Issues of Power

1
Issues of Power Control

• p. 373-406

2
First Amendment

• Congress shall make no law respecting an
  establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
  free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom
  of speech, or of the press or the right of the
  people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
  Government for a redress of grievances.

3
First Amendment

• The framework of most telecommunication policies
  is the First Amendment.
  
• First Amendment guaranteed not only that
  broadcasters can express themselves freely, but
  the audience can also be exposed to a number of
  ideas. (Marketplace of ideas)

4
First Amendment

• Under the First Amendment, there is no such
  thing as a false idea. However pernicious an
  opinion may seem, we depend for its correction
  not on the conscience of judges and juries, but
  on the competition of other ideas
• US, 1974339

5
First Amendment

• The only times that broadcasters can not express
  themselves is when
  
• theres a clear and present danger to the
  public,
  
• it comes to protecting children,
• when it come under a question of obscenity or
• it violates their agreement of serving the public
  interest of the community that it serves.

6
First Amendment

• The First Amendment only protects people from the
  government and not from private companies.
  
• Editorial control is not censorship.
• First Amendment deals with prior restraint.
• First Amendment also protects religious speech in
  the media.

7
Broadcasting Limited Rights

• Broadcasters will never hold First Amendment
  parity with their print counterparts.
  
• Broadcasting has unique attributes that justify
  imposing certain regulations that would violate
  First Amendment rights if imposed on newspapers.
  

8
Broadcasting Limited Rights

• The reason for the abridged rights is because of
• channel scarcity
• conflict in licensing, and
• intrusiveness

9
Things you cant say

• Protecting Reputations through Libel Laws
• Preserving Privacy through HIPAA and shield laws
• Preventing False Events
• George Carlins Seven Words You Can Never Say on
  Television
  

10
Obscenity Indecency

• Obscenity are materials without redeeming social
  importance and are considered ideas that are
  unorthodox, controversial or hateful.
  
• Obscene materials doesnt have First Amendment
  protection.

11
Limiting Indecency in Broadcasting

• Whosoever utters any obscene, indecent, or
  profane language by means of radio communication
  shall be fined not more than 10,000 or
  imprisoned for not more than two years, or both
• 18 USC 1464

12
Indecency

• Defined by the FCC as language or material that,
  in context, depicts or describes, in terms
  patently offensive as measured by contemporary
  community standards for the broadcast medium,
  sexual or excretory activities or organs
• FCCR, 1992b 6464, note 4

13
Pacifica Decision

• WBAI-FM played George Carlins Filthy Words
  during a early-afternoon broadcast.
  
• The FCC received one and only one complaint from
  a man listening to the radio with his son.
  
• This led to safe harbor laws.

14
Ownership of Media

• One of the major issues in the diversity of
  ownership.
  
• Monopolies at the local level are dangerous
  because of one company controlling the flow of
  information in one town.
  
• National monopolies can control the means of
  expression and production.

15
Ownership of Media

• Government passes structural regulations to
  control who has access to the media.
  
• Multiple station ownership allows the owners to
  have direct access of more than one market with
  the same workforce.
  
• Crossownership of the media structure has been a
  topic of concern in the past and will continue to
  be so with deregulations presented in the
  telecommunication act of 1996.

16
Ownership of Media

• The telecommunication act of 1996 allowed local
  telephone companies (telcos) to enter the
  broadcast marketplace and vice-versa.
  
• FCC has taken several steps to enhance
  opportunities for members of ethnic and racial
  minority groups to become licensees.
  
• There will be a clash in the issues of foreign
  control of American media in the near future.

17
Political Access

• The media must provide equal opportunity to
  political candidates running for the same
  office.
  
• Candidates are given access to the media through
  the lowest unit charge.
  
• There have been proposal that would allows
  candidate to have up to thirty minutes of free
  air time during election campaigns.

18
Political Access

• Candidates have the right to be in bona fide news
  without it affecting equal time laws.
  
• This has lead to some serious arguments about
  what is bona fide news
  

19
Public Access

• Stations have a right to broadcast controversial
  issues of local importance and allow all parties
  affected by the issue an voice in the broadcast.
  
• A person has a right to respond to personal
  attacks or political editorializing.

20
Public Access

• Editorial advertising has presented several
  issues in terms of free speech.
  
• Editorial discretion allows an aura of
  protection with news content and story
  selection.
  
• To serve the public interest, local voices need
  to be presented in local media.