Broadcast Regulatory Actions
When broadcasting began to be regulated, and stations had to have a broadcast license, some saw this as an infringement of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution stating that the government shall not stop freedom of speech in the media. This was because prior to broadcast licensing, anyone could start transmitting their views cheaply and efficiently. The FRC cracked down on "vulgar" language — for example the profanity-filled rants of William K. Henderson (on KWKH in Shreveport, Louisiana), non-mainstream political views, and "fringe" religions.
Almost from the start, the FRC was accused of being captured by the industry it regulated, radio broadcasters. Historians and contemporary critics who held this position generally pointed to the results of FRC regulation which, in many cases, advantaged large commercial radio broadcasters at the expense of smaller noncommercial broadcasters. Early radio regulation has since become a commonly-used example of rent-seeking.
Read more about this topic: Federal Radio Commission
Famous quotes containing the words broadcast and/or actions:
“I’m a lumberjack
And I’m OK,
I sleep all night
And I work all day.”
—Monty Python’s Flying Circus. broadcast Dec. 1969. Monty Python’s Flying Circus (TV series)
“... the loss of belief in future states is politically, though certainly not spiritually, the most significant distinction between our present period and the centuries before. And this loss is definite. For no matter how religious our world may turn again, or how much authentic faith still exists in it, or how deeply our moral values may be rooted in our religious systems, the fear of hell is no longer among the motives which would prevent or stimulate the actions of a majority.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)