Friday, March 6, 2009

Now Things Are Getting Scary

The whole time that we were talking about media control in class, I kept thinking about a television show called “Bullshit”. The show airs on Showtime network and is hosted by Penn and Teller (well more by Penn). In its second season the show tackled the important issue of censorship and profanity. The discussed at length the legal, societal, and personal sides of the issue. The show is very well researched, but I would only recommend it if you are ok with heavy use of the “F” word. There was a part where the FCC was discussed and quoted as saying something to the effect of: When they [the FCC] get the go-ahead from congress they intend to start regulating cable and pay TV. They don’t have the ability to do so now.

Right now the FCC only regulates what you can pick up with an antenna. So this means they have no say about what happens on cable, the internet, or subscription service TV. They only have the ability to regulate basic channels and radio.

This is the single most horrifying thing that I think I have ever heard. I still can’t get it out of my head. Thomas Jefferson once said, “A government big enough to give you everything you need, is big enough to take everything you have.”

Think about that!

2 comments:

  1. I have seen that episode and it is very interesting. I doubt the FCC will ever be able to regulate cable because it's something that the viewer has to subscribe to, pay for, and choose the channel packages. The same with the internet, people have to choose the sites they go to and the content they view. If you have taken David Scott's Media Law Class, or Freedom of Expression in a Democratic Society, you'll learn that there is a lot of gray areas when it comes to censorship. It's a tricky issue. I think we have the ability for the most part to choose the media we are exposed to. Still it would be nice to think that we still have choices when it comes to media ownership. One company owning a million channels or whatever, or owning all the news stations and newspapers, what choices are we going to be left with?

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  2. Hey Austin! The show sounds good, but what is the "F" word? Is that the word that is also commonly referred to as the "F bomb?" Personally, I don't like the word "moist." I don't really like the way it sounds when it rolls off the tongue.

    Anyway, how screwed up would it be if the FCC added cable TV to the list of facets it controls. I hope they never will. When stuff like that is controlled, it is taking away the free will and choice of everyone who would regularly watch it. Is that freedom? I ask, is that freedom? Would Abraham Lincoln concur? Hmmmm, Well, bye for now.

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