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.'"

Comments

No Conference?

[ackthpt]

but was not expected to hold a formal news conference,

Strategically eliminating the chance for a wardrobe malfunction?

I have a sinking feeling....

[tinrobot]

That his replacement will be even worse.

Don't celebrate just yet.

Re:What does Howard Stern Say?

[oldave]

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.

Re:Stern..

[bendawg]

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.

Vonage might not exist today w/o Powell.

[stratjakt]

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.

Re:Vonage might not exist today w/o Powell.

[Anonymous Coward]

Not to spoil your fun being an oppressed Republican and all. But I would prefer, in the spirit of your "giving credit where credit is due" post, why give Powell and the FCC for what the FTC is doing? Check it out.

Re:Praise Bob

[nebaz]

I hope they replace him with Howard Stern.

Re:I for one...

[R2.0]

Funny, I heard it when it first happened. Powell sounded articulate and reasoned; Stern sounded like a buffoon. While what Powell was saying may still have been disagreeable, he didn't attack Stern personally, whereas that is all Stern did.

Riveting? Hardly.

Re:What does Howard Stern Say?

[Marco_polo]

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.

Which is worse

[adewolf]

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