From: dfox@quack.sac.ca.us (David Fox)
Subject: Re: 1-900/psychics
Organization: The Duck Pond public unix: +1 408 249 9630, log in as 'guest'.
Date: 23 Jan 1993 08:43:35 UTC

In article <1jjeojINNqik@gap.caltech.edu> carl@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU writes:
>In article <fYb0uyi@quack.sac.ca.us>, dfox@quack.sac.ca.us (David Fox) writes:
>=In article <C13xy8.o7@cs.uiuc.edu> mcgrath@cs.uiuc.edu writes:


>=Right you are.  People should write the FCC asking that infomercials be
>=banned.  Their relatively recent decision to de-license television,
>=especially the limit of 12 minutes per hour of broadcast time devoted
>=to commercials, was definitely a bad move.
>
>Are you out of your mind, or what?  (I assume that McGrath was being
>facetious).  Let's see:
>	1)  We manage to get infomercials banned.

Well, I can accept it that far.  Personally, I don't see much truth in
commercials, and extending them to 1/2 hour or one hour doesn't make
little sense.  All I'd like is for the FCC to re-regulate the amount
of commercials on commercial television once more.

>	2)  We get programming that has the slightest sign of being influenced
>    by its sponsors banned (would've done in Ozzie & Harriet, of course)

This was done, not by any federal statute, but as a natural outgrowth of
the television industry sometime before 1960, I think.  Originally, of
course, the television shows were individually-sponsored, and that gave
the sponsor a lot (perhaps too much) of control over the content of the
show.  Sponsors were in some instances a factor in writing the script.

The current state of affairs (where multiple advertisers compete for
air time) is much better in that it allows more freedom for the show's
content.  However, one still has to make sure the advertisers are not
offended, so there's censorship.

I've thought about it, and I don't see the train of causality that you
see, frankly.  

>Now, where does that leave us?  All our programs are sponsored by the
>government.  Next, the fundies campaign to have all mention of evolution,
>paleontology, archaeology, and geology banned.

Despite what my post may look like, I am not in favor of government-owned
media.  I am not all that much in favor of (intensive) regulation by the
government of the broadcast industries; frankly, they don't have to.  The
commercial media already runs their operations with tighter controls
than the government could possibly do.

Besides, without the above restrictions, we have wonderful things like PBS
(thank god for that) where commercial interests can't easily intrude into
program content.  


>Carl J Lydick | INTERnet: CARL@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU | NSI/HEPnet: SOL1::CARL
>
>Disclaimer:  Hey, I understand VAXen and VMS.  That's what I get paid for.  My
>understanding of astronomy is purely at the amateur level (or below).  So
>unless what I'm saying is directly related to VAX/VMS, don't hold me or my
>organization responsible for it.  If it IS related to VAX/VMS, you can try to
>hold me responsible for it, but my organization had nothing to do with it.


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