Term
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Definition
includes: - telephone
- broadcast radio
- broadcast TV
- cable TV
- internet
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Term
| history of broadcast radio & TV |
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Definition
- radio used for maritime communication
- broadcasting developed communication of ideas and becomes commerical
- Radio Act of 1912- ship to ship or shore to shore communication
- Radio Act of 1927- Federal Radio Commission (FRC; later becomes FCC)
- created in response to chaos on airwaves
- assign licenses to frequencies so service would be predictable/could predict who you would hear
- solve problem of scarcity- there are only a fixed # of frequencies on electro-magnetic spectrum; licenses only granted to those who do some type of public service
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Term
| foundations of broadcast regulation |
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Definition
- govt. issued licenses (to solve scarcity)
- scarcity on electromagnetic spectrum
- spectrum is public resource --> licensees must use it to provide some public service
- public interest,convenience, and necessity
- Federal Broadcast Commission left to define public interest, eonvenience, necessity
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Term
| Federal Communications Act of 1934 |
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Definition
- Replaced FRC with Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
- Continuously amended to deal with new technology
- still satute that underlies regulation for broadcast industry despite amendments
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Term
| organization of current boradcast radio & TV system |
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Definition
- local stations licensed by FCC - issue licenses to frequencies; stations granted the right to use license in local area/community
- 211 communities/broadcast markets
- many stations affiliated with networks
- networks not directly regulated by FCC (unless the network owns and operates the station)
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Term
| Federal Communications Commission |
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Definition
- Federal regulatory agency charged with implementing laws
- administrative law (1 of 4 primary sources of law)
- 5 commissioners appointed by Pres. and approved by Senate to 5 year terms
- 1 is appointed chair
- no more than 3/5 can be from a single party
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Term
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Definition
- most impt. function is issuing and renewing licenses
- to get a license must:
- be a citizen of U.S. of company w/ <25% foreign ownership
- be able finacially to build and operate station for 3 months w/o advertising revenue
- personally have technical expertise to run station or have enough $ to pay someone to do it
- be open & honest in disclosure w/ FCC and of good character
- licenses are issued for 8 yr. terms
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Term
| enforcement powers of FCC |
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Definition
- revoke license to broadcast- very rare
- give short-term license renewal- show that you've changed and follow rules in 4 yrs.
- assess fines- most often
- issue a ceas & desist order- tell broadcaster they must stop doing something
- issue a letter of reprimand- list of things to do differently
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Term
| medium specific regulations |
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Definition
Supreme Court has said different characteristics of media justify - different regulations
- different levels of 1st Amend. protection
each medium is regulated according to its own model (print, broadcast, monopoly, common carrier, internet) |
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Term
| print model of regulation |
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Definition
- model of regulation used for newspaper, magazines
- *absence of govt. regulation
- protects speakers' rights b/c assumes that everyone will have a chance to speak; diversity of voices
- no scarcity (theoretically)
- success = $$ (subscriptions = $ = success)
- responsible for content- owner can be sued
- legal ?S go to courts - FCC doesn't serve as an intermediary
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Term
| broadcast model of regulation |
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Definition
- model of regulation for TV and radio
- scarcity of spectrum- not enough channels on spectrum for everyone
- govt. licensing- solve scarcity by assigning people to certain frequencies
- proctect audience rights- licensee must agree to serve public (different from print model)
- success = $$ and serving public interest
- responsible for content
- legal ?s go to FCC first, then to courts
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Term
| monopoly model of regulation |
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Definition
- model of regulation for cable TV
- community franchises- each community chooses who their franchisee is
- cable has less public responsibility than TV & Radio
- success =$$
- rates can be regulated by fed gov. (but they typically assume non-regulatory position)
- responsible for content
- legal ?s go to FCC first, then to courts
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Term
| common carrier model of regulation |
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Definition
- model of regulation for telephone
- required to carry whatever anyone wants to send out (phone is a public utility b/c it is of significant importance to society)
- universal service- everyone has access to a telephone/telephone service
- no discretion about content- not responsible for content/owner of phone company can't be sued
- individual users responsible for content
- rates regulated by fed. gov.
- legal ?s to FCC first, then to courts
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Term
| internet model of regulation |
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Definition
- model of regulation for the internet
- combines elements of many different media (print, phone, broadcast, cable)
- gray area
- use existing model?
- common carrier model?
- not broadcast model
- FCC will probably play as intermediary
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Term
| comparison of 1st amendment protection among diff. models of regulation |
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Definition
most protection print carrier common monopoly least protection broadcast
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Term
| levels of govt. regulation |
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Definition
- technical- doesn't cause much concern b/c doesn't deal w/ content
- structural-guidelines for relationships w/i the mass media industries
- content- deal w/ the message itself; limits and requires certain things
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Term
| history of structural regulations on ownership |
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Definition
- diversity and choice in programming & services offered- could hear diff. points of view
- pricing- consumers didn't pay exorbitant prices for media
- tied in with general antitrust regulations
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Term
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Definition
- monopolies to be discouraged in market economy
- Sherman Act (1890)
- prohibits efforst to combine companies/conspire to set prices, control trade, limit options
- Abuse of monopoly power- run other companies out of town by working together to set prices
- structural arrangements
- anti-competitive practices
- Clayton Act 1914
- behavioral practices to destroy competition
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Term
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Definition
- horizontal- combine to create one larger company (mergers)
- vertical- consolidation of companies at different levels in the same industry (buyer/seller relationship)
- cross-media ownership- own more than one mass media in the same market
- concern about reduction of diversity- rights of audience to get what they need
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Term
| current controversy over media ownership |
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Definition
- % of audience any one company owning multiple broadcast stations can reach reduced to 39%
- cross-media ban lifted
- "Resolution of disapproval"- lift on cross-media ownership ban should not be held up
- Bush Admin. will veto this legislation if passed- congress needs enough votes to override veto
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Term
| anti-competitive practices |
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Definition
- company behaviors that raise antitrust issues
- predatory pricing
- forced combination rates
- microsoft case
- ISPs and unsolicited e-mails
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Term
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Definition
- anti-competitive practice
- lower rates for a certain period of time to run competition out of business
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Term
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Definition
- anti-competitive practice
- can't require someone to use multiple outlets that you own so that they have access to a preferred outlet
- ex.- can't force someone to buy ad space in both radio and newspaper if the only one they want to advertise in is radio
- can offer incentives to advertise in both, but can't require both
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Term
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Definition
- exaple of anti-competitive practice
- windows must come with browsers other than internet explorer or provide access code so that others can develop browser products
- restores competition
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Term
| ISPs & unsolicited e-mails |
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Definition
- Blocking SPAM is not considered anti-competitive
- AOL is w/i its rights to protect subscribers from unsolicited e-mails
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Term
| enforcers of antitrust regulations |
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Definition
- Antitrust division of Dept. of Justice
- FTC
- FCC
- State agencies (for state laws)
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Term
| political programming of regulation of broadcast content |
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Definition
- Section 315- Equal Opportunity/Time provision
- Section 312- Candidate Access Rule
- Zapple Rule
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Term
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Definition
- Equal opportunity/Time provision
- candidates must have access to same amount of broadcast time at the same cost- ads must be aired at approx. same time of day
- candidates should have same amount of access to stations and personell
- equality in terms of times, facilities, and costs
- use= any content that features candidate's voice and/or image
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Term
| exemptions to section 315 |
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Definition
- appearances in
- bona fide newscasts- if candidate is quoted
- bona fide news interviews- regularly scheduled interview shows
- bona fide news documentaries- not about the election
- on-the-spot coverage of bona-fide news events
- broadcasters may not censor content of candidate's messages & can't be held legally responsible for objectionable content
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Term
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Definition
- Candidate Access Rule- broadcasters are required to allow legally qualified Federal candidates access to stations
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Term
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Definition
- applies section 315 to a broadcaster who supports a certain candidate
- if you allow a supporter on air in favor of a candidate, you must do the same with other candidates
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Term
| Issues of regulation of broadcast content |
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Definition
- free time for presidential candidates
- conflict: only wanted to extend free time to major parties --> had to apply to FCC for exemption from section 315
- candidates' graphic anti-abortion ads
- broadcasters didn't this this was appropriate but FCC ruled that they couldn't ban ads or channel them to a certain times of day
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Term
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Definition
- reasonable amount of programming about controversial issues of public importance
- must include opposing views on the issue
- no specific issue
- no specific amount of time
- assumes local issues (w/i broadcast market)
- Red Lion Broadcasting (1969)- not enforced
- Personal Attack rule- not enforced
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Term
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Definition
- challenged Fairness Doctrine
- violates broadcaster's 1st Amendment freedoms to require that certain content be covered
- ruled that doctrine is constitutional based on scarcity principle
- broadcasters can be required to cover controversial issues b/c they were using a scarce medium in the interest of the public
- on the books but not inforced
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Term
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Definition
- if someone is attacked they should be able to similarly respond
- on the books but not enforced
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Term
| indecedy and regulation of broadcast content |
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Definition
- anything "depicting sexual and excretory activities in a patently offensive manner, as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium."
- still should receive some level of 1st amendment protection
- must be channeled between 10 pm and 6 am
- FCC v. Pacifica (1978)
- may impose fines- increased after J. Jackson incident
- Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act
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Term
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Definition
- comedian: 7 dirty words; FCC fined radio station and case went to US SC
- indecency standards can be enforced on broacast media b/c of its pervasiveness in daily lives and basis as serving the public interest
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Term
| violence and regulation of broadcast content |
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Definition
- violence on TV- recurring issue in TV history
- V-chip requirement- every new TV set required to have V-Chip
- supposed to work in conjunction w/ rating system
- Ratings system- done solely by broadcasters; controversy over whether ratings are applied consistently/appropriately
- pros/cons of system
- content/technical/structural regulation?
- broadcasters argue that it's more of a content regulation
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Term
| children's programming & regulation of broadcast content |
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Definition
- children's TV Act of 1990-
- requires 3 hrs. of educational programming per week
- limits on commercials in children's programs; 10.5 min /hr on weekends & 12 min/hr weekdays
- product based commercials- advertisement for product related to program not allowed
- displaying of web addresses
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Term
| regulation of TV commercials |
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Definition
- no ad limit during adult programming
- requirements:
- sponsor of an ad must be identified
- self imposed restrictions (began as result of Fairness Doctrine)
- no cigarette ads
- no hard liquor ads
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Term
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Definition
- Feb 17, 2009- last day of analog broadcast signals
- digital transmission uses less bandwidth
- more channels available
- frees up space for public uses
- DTV not the same as HDTV
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Term
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Definition
- Federal vs. local regulation
- local- cable franchises
- PEG channels (public, educational, govt. access)
- public access channels can't be censored by cable system or govt. b/c they are a public forum
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Term
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Definition
- cable systems must carry broadcast stations w/i that market
- Turner Broadcasting v. FCC
- supreme court upheld must carry rules bc/ must protect over-the-air broadcastng
- if broadcast channels weren't included in cable systems, there wouldnt' be enough subscribers to financially sustain them; also must be provided to people who can't afford them
- net neutrality issues- to reat all content, sites, and platforms equally
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Term
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Definition
- difficult to regulate
- no boundaries- international = jurisdiction issues
- no central location through which messages are sent
- encryption methods
- anonymity- different and more difficult to regulate than other media
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Term
| Communications Decency Act (CDA) |
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Definition
- Part of 1996 Telecommunications Act
- distribution of anything to a child that is questionable in terms of sexual content may be met w/ criminal & civil penalties (up to 2 yrs. in jail)
- *ruled unconstitutional in ACLU v. Reno (1997)
- CDA is too broad- ability of adults to access info. outweighs compelling govt. interest
- should approach technological solutions to problem instead of content solutions
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Term
| child online protection act (COPA) |
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Definition
- 1998- it is a federal crime for commercial websites to communicate material "harmful to minors"
- diff. from CDA b/c only applies to commercial websites
- requires publishers to make a good faith effort to prohibit children from accessing sexual content
- *declared unconstitutional (too broad)
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Term
| children's internet protection act (CIPA) |
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Definition
- requires filtering software on computers in public schools & libraries or else lose federal technology funding
- "voluntary" but not really b/c schools & libraries will lose funding if they don't comply
- upheld by US Supreme Court
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Term
| arguments for/against CIPA software filters |
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Definition
- for filters- many libraries have separate section for children w/ filters and adults w/o filters
- against filters- companies don't have to release criteria used to make filters; can only block words which takes things out of context
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