FCC Talk

Almost consistently cold now. Today especially flirted with freezing temps, so it was a good day to stay home, which I did.

Dispatches came in from the four corners of the Earth, however. Here’s a quote from a front-page article in today’s Tribune: “The study validates what parents know intuitively: Well, duh, yes, there is more sex on TV,” said Kathleen Abernathy, a member of the Federal Communications Commission. (Italics added.)

Where are you when we need you, Newton Minow? (Actually, he’s a partner at Sidley & Austin, here in Chicago.)

This is not how a member of the FCC should talk, not for attribution, anyway. This isn’t how anyone in authority should talk. No wonder the commission acquiesced to the foolishness of media consolidation. You can make an argument for international competitiveness in having the auto or steel industries in a few hands, but why do media outlets need to be oligopolized?

She continued: “We need to give parents better tools. With 200 channels, I feel out of control.” Yes, I forgot, cable is mandatory. Can’t live without it.

So far I’ve managed to hold my ground on that one. No cable, no satellite dish here. This summer, a family moved in next door into the house formerly occupied by Chuck, may be rest in peace. One day I was pleased to notice that they’d installed a taller TV antenna on their roof, rather than a south-facing dish to pick up a thousand wasteland channels. Good for them.