by Alex Bennett
With the new administration comes new people to lead just about everything. Come on, Sanjay Gupta for Surgeon General? Give me a break! This is the guy that liberal hero Michael Moore eviscerated when he was publicizing "Sicko". He's a Goddamed TV Doc for heaven's sake. Why not nominate "House", he has bigger ratings? So if "Goopy" can get the job, why not me for Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission?
This is not a joke. To begin with, I am more than qualified. I know most of the business side and am eminently qualified to deal with the electronic side as well. Hell I can't think of many more people who have the qualifications that I do.
Here are 10 things I'd do to improve communications in this country and the commission as well:
- I'd get the FCC back to what its original purpose was, to monitor signals by making sure they were up to snuff and to act as an ombudsman for the public when they have complaints about the licensees.
- Take the FCC out of the business of being a censor, a role it was never meant to play.
- Make stations get back to the prime tenant of the FCC Telecommunication Act and serve in the "public interest, convenience and necessity" and live out the creed it mandated that "the airwaves belong to the people".
- Allow any language and topics at any hour. Most broadcasters wouldn't suddenly go crazy with dirty words or seedy topics because they do have the public and advertisers to deal with. There is currently a chill that exists in all over the air broadcasting that something might go wrong and they would be fined massive amounts of money. Let the marketplace determine what the taste should be.
- Reasonable nudity at a reasonable hour. Let's leave the porn to the internet and cable where people can get their fill.
- Repeal all the fines given stations for things like the Janet Jackson breast exposure debacle and if they already paid a fine, give them their money back. Broadcasters just should be held liable for the acts of others over which they had no control.
- Take all those vacant analog TV channels and convert them to free, uncensored Wi-Fi for the public.
- Better wireless phone service that doesn't go dead on you.
- While there is some question as to weather the "Fairness Doctrine" should be brought back, I do believe that licensees should be held accountable for a reasonable balance in political and social opinions aired by them.
- Finally, channels should be set aside on radio, TV and cable for public access to the airwaves free of charge on a first come first serve basis which would serve the needs of minority opinions and niche needs. By the way, no censorship.
That's petty good for starters. There's a lot more that needs to be done.
If this all sounds good to you go to http://change.gov and under contact send them a note suggesting me. They won't listen, but let's give it a shot.
Am I serious? Enough to quit my job, divest myself of my broadcast stock and move to that hell hole Washington D.C.
4 comments:
I remember when you ran for the KQED board.
So glad to read your postings in the blog. May 2009 be good for you and the rest of us. Take care and thanks for years of enlightenment.
How about some consumer protections in regards to cable TV/Internet providers.
1) They should be REQUIRED to have live operators available....no computer switch boards.
2) You should be allowed to buy your own equipment....fk leasing a digital box at $14.00/month....same goes for modems.
Also, there should be a limit on the number of radio stations one company can own in a given market and cross ownership shouldn't be allowed.
You would make a good commissioner given your concern about the loss of independent broadcasters through deregulation. I even thought of asking if you would consider the job, especially during the time you were out of work. I thought better of it then, realizing how it frustrating it would be to deal with the government bureaucracy.
If you are serious, I would be willing to support your efforts, though I would like to see more work on your end. Martin's second term started in 2006, so he will be there until 2011, unless he quits early. He was promoted to chairman after being a commissioner since 2001. If you go for retiring Commissioner Tate's seat, that would make it easier to be promoted to chairman later.
For the process of getting yourself nominated, change.gov is a good place to start. The GSA has a resource called PrunesOnline. http://excellenceintransition.org
One more thing, I want better cell service, too. What do you say to people in Berkeley who are preventing Verizon and T-Mobile from constructing more cell towers in this town because they believe the towers are hazardous to their health? And before you ask, yes these are people who do use cell phones themselves, and they are being hypocrites. So what else is new in Berkeley?
I'm all for it. As long as you outlaw the playing of Sheena Easton's classic hit, Morning Train. You and Lori ruined many a day of mine playing that song on Live105 in the morning.
May that song haunt you for the rest of the month. Payback's a bitch.
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