Don't let FCC take your remote control

Every night around 11 o’clock my wife reluctantly relinquishes the remote control so that I can select the local newscast we will watch. The scene is familiar to millions of people for whom the TV remote can sometimes cause marital friction and spark a battle for the power to determine what others watch.

On Tuesday, the Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing to discuss whether there is too much violence on cable and satellite TV and what to do about it. The issue of TV violence is the baby of Kevin J. Martin, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, who was scheduled to testify, but canceled at the last minute for family reasons. Martin thinks there is too much violence on subscription TV.

The hearings went ahead without him as others testified for and against his proposal for federal regulation, which would make the point of the remote moot, as consumers could no longer control their entertainment choices.

In testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee, an FCC representative was joined by at least one other commission member, one network executive and an advocacy group representative in support of legislation that would allow cable and satellite TV subscribers to select their programs “a la carte,” meaning consumers could choose the networks they want to come into their homes and reject others.

This cafeteria approach might sound good at first glance, but suppose someone didn’t want to see the violence in Fox TV’s “24,” but did wish to see the violence of NFL football? Since Fox carries both, consumers who rejected Fox because of “24,” would not be able to watch NFL football.

Not only is this a bad business model in that cable and satellite TV make money by telling advertisers they can reach a certain number of homes, it also takes away the privileges and responsibilities of individuals to make these decisions. I don’t want — and you shouldn’t either — any government official or bureaucrat deciding which cable shows are good for me, and which ones are not.

Much of this “I’m from the government and I’m here to help you” attitude derives from the supposed negative impact such programs have on children, but Census figures show that only one-third of American households have children 18 or under. Chairman Martin favors regulating all households to accommodate this relatively small percentage.

It might be worth it if other avenues were not available to parents to control what their children watch, but those avenues exist in abundance. Parents can turn off, or even get rid of the TV; they can make use of the V-chip, now a part of all newer TV sets; they don’t have to subscribe to cable or satellite TV; they can make use of the imperfect ratings system or they can monitor what their children watch.

It amazes me that some conservatives who preach against “big government” control of our lives think nothing of rushing in to ask big government to control our entertainment choices.

The a la carte approach is the worst of all worlds. Fox News could not have been launched in an a la carte environment, which might be good news for liberals, but bad news for those who wish to have another perspective on the news than what they got before Fox was born a decade ago.

What about religious programming? Would conservative Christians, for example, wish to allow people to block all Christian programs when the opportunity to reach nonbelievers is a strong motivator for the people who produce them?

One expects government regulation and control during a Democratic administration, but a Republican administration is supposed to be dedicated to the free market. The FCC’s own study shows that in an ideal a la carte world, consumers would get 20 channels, but would pay the same price as today’s 150 channels. Only those who don’t mind buying one egg and paying for a dozen would be comfortable with such a deal.

Those on the right who favor this proposed regulation had better think of the consequences. If the FCC and not the market control your entertainment choices, would a Democratic president and his (or her) appointees to the FCC feel emboldened to control the political dialogue? They surely would cite the entertainment regulations as precedent for coming after talk radio and anything else they deemed “harmful” to the public.

Don’t let them take your remote, because you won’t get it back.

[Email Cal Thomas at tmseditors@tribune.com.] ©2007 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.

to cal Thomas

Submitted by dollaradayandfound on Thu, 07/05/2007 - 8:30am.

Well, let the market control the selling of Mary Jane also. A little crack would probably have a market!
Alcohol sales are way up, even if you can't buy it a a grocery store or Walmart. Why not? The market is there.
There is a big market for XXX films at main stream theaters, but they aren't allowed. Why not?
Schools should be allowed to sell mixed drinks on campus to help pay for education---the market is there.
Totally unsafe cars could sell for about half price, even polluters, and I'm sure there is a market for a $6,000 Ford made like that.
There is a great market for sexual items everywhere: condoms, Ecstasy, gadgets, instructions, etc. Let them sell them if there is a market.
And lastly, but not least, mustaches and rugs should be free for those needing them!

login to post comments

Free Markets Rule!

Submitted by nuk on Thu, 07/05/2007 - 9:08am.

"Well, let the market control the selling of Mary Jane also."

Good idea. It sure beats the idiotic "war on drugs" that has been a miserable failure for decades.

"Alcohol sales are way up, even if you can't buy it a a grocery store or Walmart. Why not?"

Uh, yes you can. In most states, grocery stores and Wal-Mart can sell not only beer and wine but liquor too. Duh.

"There is a big market for XXX films at main stream theaters, but they aren't allowed. Why not?"

There is NOT a market for showing porn in movie theaters. Duh. Ever heard of VHS/DVD players and how that was a giant boom to the porn biz? Did you ever wonder why that was? It was because people didn't have to go to theaters to watch porn. There IS a huge market for porn and it IS sold everyday to adults. Supply and demand.

"Totally unsafe cars could sell for about half price, even polluters, and I'm sure there is a market for a $6,000 Ford made like that."

There isn't a market for unsafe cars that I know of. If there were suddenly a market for that the mfg's would be sued out of existence pretty quickly.

"There is a great market for sexual items everywhere: condoms, Ecstasy, gadgets, instructions, etc. Let them sell them if there is a market."

I believe they are being sold to that market as we speak, all over the internet and in retail stores across the country.

If you are trying to come up with examples of how the common folk in the USA needs protection from themselves and how Big Brother has to do it, you need some better examples.

NUK

login to post comments

nuk

Submitted by dollaradayandfound on Thu, 07/05/2007 - 1:19pm.

You guys are always for "free trade" except for what you don't want!

login to post comments