Quote:
Originally posted by Rudey
You say they are in the process of defining it - in fact you say "it's obvious". You can't define indecency, you can't answer my questions because you're not a member of congress or work for the FCC, but it's obvious.
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Mind if we stay in context? I say it's "obvious" because of the case at hand and the previous "Love Sponge" one. The most previous case I can think of involved a small group of stations which were fined (and I think a license may have been forfeited), but at the moment I can't remember the name of the case. I'm sure it will come to me as soon as I post this.
You said earlier, I think, that (paraphrasing) these actions set precedent. Perhaps that is how Congress intends to do just that. That is to set a precedent through these fines and decisions. If they aren't overturned by judcial review, they pretty much become the yardstick used in these cases. If I have misread your point, I'm sorry, but that's the way it sounds to me.
As for your other question -- which I'm not sure is really important since, again, it is Congress who makes the rules -- yes, I can certainly look in the Broadcasting and Cable Yearbook or other publication or the FCC website and find out who owns the most broadcasting properties. But, again, they aren't taking these actions -- they are reacting in order to protect their business.
The number one owner in radio is Clear Channel. Infinity, for whom Stern actually works, is another giant. Television is another story since there is still a "cap" on the size of the audience that any owner can control through station ownership. Fox and ABC are at the cap, CBS and NBC are somewhat below.
Personally, I don't like the consolidation of media ownership -- which is particularly true in radio and newspapers -- but, once again, not being a Member of Congress, I can only make my view known or keep my own council. When I started in broadcasting, any given owner could own only seven of each kind of station -- TV, AM, FM. That was raised to 12 a few years ago. They also broke up most of the local "monopolies" where one owner had both the local newspaper and broadcast stations in the same market. With deregulation, the numbers were basically done away with, replaced only by the percentage of audience mentioned above for TV only.
Finally, once again, I don't intend to comment on whether Howard Stern should be fired, fined or otherwise taken off the air. It's not my brief. If you aren't interested in my take on the situation, and what parts I care to (or not to) comment on, feel free to ignore it. I won't be offended.