Bad Entertainment Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree

Slamming celebrities that make terrible entertainment, while important, doesn't address the real issue. Britney Spears and Ashlee Simpson don't sit down over cigars and decide to undermine the "public" airwaves. That's was Michael Powell's job over at the FCC.

Over the last fifteen years or so, the federal government passed the Telecommunicaitons act and recinded the Fairness Doctrine.
This one-two punch allowed companies like Clear Channel to decide your radio programming and networks like ABC to decide who they cover politically (and how).

H.O.P.E. is a non-partisan organisation, but we are against any effort by the federal government to influence the production of entertainment. It may seem that the Telecommunications Act would be right up our alley, seeing as how it was a massive de-regulation of the airwaves. Our interest is not for deregulation, it is one that strives for better and more diverse entertainment. In our opinion, the Telecommunications act has acted against this interest.

Salon has had a great series of articles dealing with the Telecommunications Act and Clear Channel, and now has one about the Fairness Doctrine.



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