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Thursday, January 29, 2004
So, Fairly Crass sent me an email t'other day.
I find this pretty appalling - in short, CBS (Viacom), who has just received a major favor (the ability to purchase an even larger slice of the media pie) from the Bush administration and congressional republicans, is refusing to run a commercial during the Super Bowl, because it is "controversial." However, they ARE running an ad from the White House that controversially links drugs to terrorism. I don't suppose it has anything to do with the fact that this new ad suggests Bush's $1,000,000,000,000+ deficit is irresponsible, and that CBS just got a huge giveaway from the administration..CBS does not own the airwaves, we do. Most peole get their information from television, so we have to make sure all sides have access to the airwaves; not just those who change legislation to benefit the few corporations that own most of the media. Please watch the 30-second ad linked from this email, and then you can send a petition to CBS in about 5 seconds, if you're the type of person who likes democracy. If not, just go back to your sit-com, and trust that everything is going to be just fine... To which I replied, While I do agree with -m's viewpoint, and have signed the petition, I do feel compelled to point out that while the public owns the bandwidth, CBS has leased this bandwidth from us. As such, while they do need to provide public services (news, election coverage, political advertisements), they are also a private organization, not a democratic one. They have the right to decide what airs and what does not air. They need to make money. By airing "controversial" material, they drive away viewers, which in turn drives away advertisers. If you really want to make a difference, go to affiliate renewal hearings. The FCC grants broadcast licences every seven years. File protests against affiliates, and against Viacom. I doubt the petition will do any good, but hitting individual affiliates might. Demonstrate that the license holders have not acted in the public interest. Keep track of times and dates. File complaints. Start small, and remember that overall, CBS/Viacom tends to be very conservative politically. That's the important thing to remember -- yes, we do own the airwaves. But, we allow media agencies to lease the frequencies. The companies do have to serve the public interest, but they don't have the responsibility to uphold the First Amendment. Their only responsibility is to make money. And, they are required to by law. After all, they are leasing the airwaves. Gotta pay the rent somehow. Plus, if PETA and MoveOn.org are allowed to air their ads in the interest of free speech, that means that The Rev. Fred Phelps of GodHatesFags.com fame would be able to run his ad, and no one could complain. NAMBLA could start recruitment efforts. Every wackjob in the US could run their ads, and, believe me, people would be bitching about it if they did. Media conglomerates do not have to present all viewpoints. Except from political candidates. Comments by: YACCS |