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Michael Powell to Leave FCC
Anonymous Slashdotter writes "Michael Powell, chairman of the FCC, will be stepping down from his post soon. 'Powell, who maintained a light regulatory hand as the nation's chief media watchdog but collected some of the largest indecency fines against U.S. broadcasters, planned to issue a statement Friday but was not expected to hold a formal news conference, these officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.'"
Strategically eliminating the chance for a wardrobe malfunction?
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
of course, his replacement might be even worse ..
Just curious, since assholes aren't allowed to be shown on network tv, when they air the press conference will he be pixelated or completely covered with a black dot?
... shan't miss him.
Check out his on-air confrontation with Howard Stern from a couple of months ago... riveting stuff.
I'm not wrong. You haven't thought about it hard enough.
That his replacement will be even worse.
Don't celebrate just yet.
At least, that was the original design. Someone needs to take them to court over the 1st ammendment. If someone's sign language is governed by free speech, then it follows that the broadcasts should also be governed by the same. They both travel over electro magnetic waves, right?
You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button for several seconds or press the Restart button.
I wonder if Colin Powell's exodus is not unrelated to this.
There are 2 kinds of people in this world. Those that can keep their train of thought,
Howard actually won big assuming Sirius keeps the checks coming to him and they don't bounce.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Well, from what I hear that guy can be a real (censored).
Electrons are free; it is moving them that becomes expensive.
What the fuck is an "F-Bomb"?????
I think you all are too harsh on my man Mikey P.
He heads an organization that is ostensibly about regulating new technologies, but employs almost 10 times as many lawyers as engineers, and the average age of the engineers is quite high (in the 40s, if memory serves). He has done a surprisingly good job of staying moderate in terms of amount of regulation. He generally knows when to stay out of the fray, and has been quick to officially adopt standards that have been cemented internationally.
He really has an impossible job, and I think he has been doing as well as anyone could have expected.
I don't mind if they put someone religous in his place.....
As long as that person also realizes that the copy bit is the devil's work!
First... Stern's going to Sirius... that'd be the correct spelling.
Second, the Commission is limited in who it can fine for what reasons. Since Stern is not a licensee, is not deliberately or inadvertantly interfering with other communications and isn't operating radio transmitting equipment without a license, the FCC can't fine him. They can only fine the "person" responsible for the broadcast - the station owner, who *is* a licensee, and as a condition of licensing, agreed to follow FCC rules.
Remember, Infinity chose to employ Stern and broadcast his program. Clear Channel chose to carry his show. Other groups/stations chose to carry his show.
Similarly, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake are not Commission licensees, were not operating any type of transmitting equipment and weren't interfering with anything. So neither could be fined by the FCC.
The licensee is the one with the burden of preventing indecent material from reaching the air, not the performers.
Now, I don't personally agree with fining them. My own view is that there are two buttons on a radio or television -- one changes the channel, the other one turns it off. Use them, monitor what your children listen to/watch and don't expect the government to babysit for you.
I don't know whether it's too late to un-do all the damage he has done to Amateur Radio by coating BPL with teflon and ramming it through - but hopefully common sense will prevail and BPL will be shelved...
Close -- but Nixon gave them the power over content.
This
Stern went on a 10 minute rant about it this morning.
Basically he said that Powell didn't deserve to be there, and was only there because of his dad (which he's said many times before). He also said that it probably wouldn't make any difference, because the Bush administration is still in power, and they will probably find someone who is just as bad or worse than Powell was about trying to enforce "indecency standards". That was followed up by calling Powell basically a two-faced liar who said that indecency should be controlled by the market, then "cowtowing" to pressure from the large conglomerate radio organizations, and allowing a few organizations to become very powerful in radio.
Michael Powell steps down...
to be replaced by John Ashcroft.
"Let the eagle soar...."
Remain calm! All is well!
Last year, Powell repeatedly shielded VoIP services from intrusive government regulation and taxation. The FCC voted in February that Internet-only VoIP services were not subject to FCC oversight and expanded that view in November to protect VoIP from state regulators. ...
"He let us go out and build this new thing without knowing all the issues beforehand," said Jeff Citron, chief executive of Vonage, the largest U.S. provider of Internet telephone services. "He helped the telephone industry transition from the old to the new world."
Cellphone number portability, Do Not Call list, he's pushed hard to free up more spectrum for WiFi.
But he's republican so let's focus on the stuff we don't like.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
Companies get to: Sell tons of new TVs, DVD players/Recorders and Tuners (yours isn't compatible anymore!), implement DRM (I can't wait until someone goes to jail for recording Enterprise), and the FCC gets to auction off a prime piece of the specturm for an ungodly sum.
Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley
They have been taken to court over the First Amendment, and the Supreme Court has ruled that it is within the public interest to have the FCC place reasonable restrictions on content aired within certain times over public airwaves. Moreover, even outside of those times, it is legal to limit broadcast material over public airwaves that is patently offensive. Transmissions over more limited media (cable and satellite) do not fall within the domain of the FCC, as has been determined by the courts on occasion, and which I believe even Michael Powell has stated in declining to get involved in certain satellite and cable broadcast issues (don't recall them specifically offhand).
You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
Reader beware: in the above post "deregulation of the Internet" means Powell allowed the cable companies to censor their Internet service, in opposition to decades of common-carrier policy. In GOP speak, "deregulation" means rich white guys get all the money, and the customer gets a nice dick in the ass.
. My own view is that there are two buttons on a radio or television -- one changes the channel, the other one turns it off. Use them, monitor what your children listen to/watch and don't expect the government to babysit for you.
The Jackson incident is a glaring example of why that doesn't work, when normally I'd agree.
If I don't want my kids listening to or watching Stern, it's easy enough to lock them out of the E! channel when his show comes on.
But, no one expected to see that kind of shit during the Superbowl half-time show. The problem is the Superbowl was rated for all ages.
It pissed a lot of people off, and don't go off on some "well in Europe its ok.." rant. To many, it would be like going to McDonalds, and having them serve your kids vodka in their Happy Meals. People also knew it wasn't an accident, it was dead obvious that it wasn't. It was some washed up old skank trying to be shocking and prop up her failing career.
I'm all for leaving it up to the people, and a ratings system. If a show says they're rated for all ages, and then start cussing and showing nudity, they should be fined because IMO that's fraud.
The TV industry has been hammering the point that we pay by watching commercials lately. Fine, I accept that. Then if you advertise your program as rated all ages, and I pay for it by watching your commercials, and then you cross the line into adult content, well in the marketplace we call behavior like that a bait and switch.
What they did was wrong, and whether or not you personally were offended isn't the point.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
Oh, it's not conservative/religious/etc. Remember Tipper Gore? She was laregly responsible for the explicit lyrics warning lables on music. Tipper Gore is not conservative at all from a political standpoint, she is known as a liberal. Conservative, liberal, they're all a bunch of Bill of Rights hating fools. I am becoming convinced that the sole purpose of the US government is to stifle to people, crush innovation, buy our food, and think for us. Any idiot across the whole right to left wing spectrum is capable of being worse than Michael Powell. Bush and Kerry are exactly the same, but that's another topic.
Don't forget the bill that is sitting on presiden't desk. The one that will allow the FCC to fine 'individual radio personalities'. I'm all for moderate regulation of our airways, but going after the actors/DJ's is a dangerous precedent.
I am the lord of the pun. Dance Knave!
Hardly anyone saw it during the superbowl -- her breast was flashed for a couple of seconds.
Most children spend their first months or years sucking on their mother's breast. Its no big deal anyway.
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
On the one hand, people complain about the FCC slapping fines on large corporations for broadcasting media that they deem "inappropriate". Then in the very same breath, they complain about the FCC supporting large corporations.
If the FCC was truly all about supporting large networks, they would allow them to appeal to the ever-increasing moral decadence of our society completely unharrassed. After all, isn't that how large, successful corporations got to where they are today? They are in the business of selling a product that the public wants. If that happens to be smut, then they will push the envelope as far as they can until the free market or the FCC says enough is enough.
But God demonstrates his love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us - (Romans 5:8)
Ok so which is worse nakid breast or some guy's head being chopped in. Personally I would rather my daughter see the breast than the chopped in head. The FCC seems perfectly happy with kids watching extreme violence but get's all disgruntled over band language (so what) or a nakid body part. Makes me wonder. Alex
"The Brady Bunch is back...working homicide"
Yeah! It's the same as when the phone company went to touch tone and my pulse phones didn't work anymore! Oh, wait...
Look, your TV isn't going to be useless anytime soon. Heck, that day is so far out that it'll probably break before then anyhow.
Relax. No one has suggested that everyone discards their TV on any give date. The regulatory date given to TV stations to upgrade their signal doesn't mean they'll terminate analog broadcasts that day too.
I have an old TV that only has RF in, but this trivially cheap dongle let's me watch cable in the garage. I won't be taking it to the transfer station until it cacks.
And what does HD broadcasting have to do with DVD player/recorders? I don't get what your beef is.