[opendtv] The Bullying Pulpit
- From: Monty Solomon <monty@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: undisclosed-recipient: ;
- Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2004 19:27:46 -0400
The Bullying Pulpit
By Art Brodsky, TomPaine.com
April 19, 2004
In the first quarter of the year, about 100,000 people each month
decided they were fed up with what broadcast radio stations were
feeding them. They were fed up with the same songs played dozens of
times a day, fed up with car dealers screaming at them in
commercials. So, these people signed up for XM Radio, a pay-radio
service broadcast by satellite. This year, XM added something new to
its more than 100 channels of music and talk-local traffic and
weather information.
That new development was too much for the powerful broadcasting
lobby, which sees the local market, and local ad revenue, as its own.
Rather than recognize a weakness in their programming and try to find
a way to hang on to their listeners, the broadcasters instead went to
their friends in Congress as part of a campaign that would restrict
consumer choice.
As a result, Rep. Charles "Chip" Pickering, R-Miss., and Rep. Gene
Green, D-Tex., with little fanfare, introduced H.R. 4026, the Local
Emergency Radio Service Preservation Act of 2004. It's the type of a
bill that's unfortunately quite common, but illustrates one of the
fundamental weaknesses of our economy that you won't hear discussed
in the presidential campaign.
There are some American industries that are just plain afraid to
compete in the marketplace. For all of the talk in favor of "the free
market" and doing what's best for consumers, this bill is the poster
child for the ability of one industry to try to use Members of
Congress to put the screws to a competitive industry
,,,
http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/10209
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