I wonder how much of the new regulation mentioned would include Washington pressuring (censoring?) local stations not to air shows critical of the Administration and Administration-friendly companies (ie, campaign contributors)? Or is that being cynical?
Mark Lloyd, newly appointed Chief Diversity Officer of the Federal Communications Commission, has called for making private broadcasting companies pay licensing fees equal to their total operating costs to allow public broadcasting outlets to spend the same on their operations as the private companies do.
Lloyd presented the idea in his 2006 book, Prologue to a Farce: Communications and Democracy in America, published by the University of Illinois Press.
Lloyd’s hope is to dramatically upgrade and revamp the Corporation for Public Broadcasting through new funding drawn from private broadcasters.
The CPB is a non-profit entity that was created by Congress and that currently receives hundreds of millions of dollars in federal subsidies each year. In fiscal 2009, it is receiving an appropriation of $400 million.
“The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) must be reformed along democratic lines and funded on a substantial level,” Lloyd wrote in his book.
“Federal and regional broadcast operations and local stations should be funded at levels commensurate with or above those spending levels at which commercial operations are funded,” Lloyd wrote. “This funding should come from license fees charged to commercial broadcasters. Funding should not come from congressional appropriations. Sponsorship should be prohibited at all public broadcasters.”
Along with this money, Lloyd would regulate much of the programming on these stations to make sure they focused on “diverse views” and government activities.
“Local public broadcasters and regional and national communications operations should be required to encourage and broadcast diverse views and programs,” wrote Lloyd. “These programs should include coverage of all local, state and federal government meetings, as well as daily news and public issues programming.
On a vaguely unrelated topic, I’m thinking that a tad less than $18 million was used to create the FCC website.
Bush put his right-wing buddies in charge of the CPB. Time for the pendulum to swing the other way.
What is the poor FCC going to do when most of the “TV” is being streamed over the Internet and stations don’t actually broadcast over the air? Right now I am streaming and downloading all of my video entertainment and news. Between a web browser, Miro and XBMC who needs cable or broadcast?
#1:
Yeah, and public radio was soooo not biased against Bush the last eight years.
CPB has a definite bias, and if the Diversity Czar is going to fix it, he’ll have to fund shows that ‘speak truth to’ the Obama administration.
#1 Phydeau said “Bush put his right-wing buddies in charge of the CPB. Time for the pendulum to swing the other way.”
Maybe so, but he should have put it out of business.
#1
I don’t care what Bush/Clinton/W/Obama did/have done…
The CPB has always been a political/cultural animal thats had to survive in market forces. It does well enough.
Did it occur to you that there might be a reason there’s only one ‘public’ television station in each area/reagion of the country??
Does anyone seriously believe that Congress, which relies on for-profit tv and radio broadcasters to air their campaign commercials, will alienate these same broadcasters by forcing a huge increase in license fees. Funding broadcasters that do not/can not run their campaign commercials.
I expect any revamping of funding for CPB along this proposed line to take a long walk down a short pier.
#7: So you would be OK if NPR spewed right wing propaganda like what comes from Fox News?
#7: So you would be OK if NPR spewed right wing propaganda like what comes from Fox News?
Tax payer funded leftist crap vs. private sponsor funded right wing crap.
If you can’t tell the difference, there is a little island about 90 miles from Florida that you should move to.
#10: That’s a whole different situation. Eliminating because of cost is one thing. Eliminating because you disagree with content is pure censorship.
#11: You completely missed the point.
#10, If FauxNews was any more biased, it would be a transistor.
#13: Good one!
PBS in my local area broadcasts BBC shows on Saturday night. I say that is diversity because BBC is from another country. How else would have I been exposed to Keeping up with Appearances, Dr Who, Are You Being Served, etc without PBS. I grew up watching Mr Rogers, Sesame Street, and other children’s PBS shows.
As for funding, doesn’t public broadcasting receive funds from “viewers like you”? I want to keep my NPR and PBS and think the model of having the viewers pay for content instead of sitting through commercials is a good model. I know they do receive some tax dollars, and perhaps that is fine, but the tax money should not go to partisan politics.
#17: What’s good is the word play. As for the rest, you really do live in a paranoid fantasy world completely devoid of any understanding of how corrupt the right is, don’t you? Not saying the left is better, just that the right really worked hard at it for a number of years while in charge.
Fox News is great for all the blondes in miniskirts trying to cross their legs on a couch with cameras at crotch level. I think it’s marvellous and ingenious since the blood flow for most male viewers never reaches their brains.
#15, [Formal Bow] Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you. I’ll be here all week.
#16, BWAHAHAHAHAHA! You think I’M a statist? Dude, you need to look that definition up. It doesn’t mean, “Anybody who doesn’t agree with me.” I don’t think a single person on the board, other than you, would even remotely consider me a statist.
BTW . . . I happen to think the same thing about PBS.
#23 LibertyLover
I think you’re a statist since you’re not a populist. 😉
#25, So, because I don’t like FauxNews, I’m for ObamaCare?
Just so you know, and so you can take your foot out of your mouth, I am not.
#27, 🙂
#29 Or was that an ad hominem fallacy?
#30, STOP IT! I CAN’T BREATH!
#32, OK, just for future reference, I am a Libertarian. The Republicans lost my favor over four years ago when I couldn’t tell the difference between the two anymore.
I am a strong Constitutionalist and a strong supporter of the 10th Amendment.
If anything YOU are a statist because you believe it ought to be the Republicans in charge instead of the Democrats. You are simply on the other side of the Two-Party Coin.
#33 LibertyLover
I’ve read this blog for a while and you’re one of the most consistent posters here. I think of you as a skeptic, in the best possible sense.
#34, I’ll take that as high praise. Don’t ruin my day by refuting it 🙂
Yea, why didn’t the broadcasters have to pay for their spectrum like everyone else?
Making them pay a licensing fee equal to their operating costs will bring down their costs in a hurry.
“…private broadcasting companies pay licensing fees equal to their total operating costs to allow public broadcasting outlets to spend the same on their operations as the private companies do…” What?!?!?
So most areas in the US have four or five over the air TV broadcasters and a dozen or more radio stations. So, you’re gonna take the combined operating costs of 20 or more companies to finance a single TV channel and one or two radio stations?
Where do I sign up?
Alfie? You there, boy? You’ve about run the phrase “ad hominem” into the ground. Why not expand your phrasebook? Ever heard of “carpe diem”? I think it means god is a bottom feeder. Or how about “tempus fugit”? The fudge is hot. Yummy.
#37 Animby
Maybe the word of the day should be “fallacious”.
PBS is the best non-sports channel on the whole 900 channel line up.
Alfred1 is so pathetic it’s unbearable to read his illogical musings, evidence why siblings should not mate and have children.
The radio airwaves are owned by ALL the people. I’m tired of the nutcase fringe of the conservative party dominating it.
I drive around American and in many markets you will hear Rush Limbaugh on two stations (and maybe even a distant third!) “balanced” by Glenn Beck!
It’s no wonder they conservatives show up at town halls making them seem as dumb as used brake pads.
# 38 qb said, “Maybe the word of the day should be “fallacious”.”
While true that Alfie’s posts suck, big time, I don’t think he believes in fallacio. Not procreative…
@Animby
You are teh funnay!