Digital TV and the public interest
October 18th, 2005Before giving broadcasters “multicast must-carry” privileges, Congress and the FCC should “define meaningful public-interest obligations.” That’s the view of Gloria Tristani, a former FCC Commissioner, and Meredith McGehee of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center.
They say broadcasters should:
• Air a minimum of three hours per week of local, civic or electoral-affairs programming on the most-watched channel they operate and a comparable minimum number of hours across other streams of programming they may provide.
• Promote the FCC’s often-stated goal of diverse viewpoints and voices on television by ensuring that independent producers provide a minimum of 25 percent of broadcasters’ most-watched channel’s prime-time schedule.
• Tell the public how they are serving the interests of their audiences by making this information available in a standardized, searchable format, not only at the station, but posted on the station’s own web site.
The public interest has barely featured in the digital TV debate. Welcome back, I say. Still, I don’t believe such a minimal public benefit would justify forcing cable companies to devote up to six times as many channels to broadcasters.
• Link: The Hill