I get that, and if that should happen I'd be the first against it. But no threat has been made yet with regard to airing "pro America" content.
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Chairman Carr asks networks to air 'pro-America content' to mark nation's 250th birthday
- Thread starter Y2kTheNewOldies
- Start date
This could also be considered intimidation. If I made the suggestion no one would pay attention or care. When the Chair of the FCC makes the suggestion there are questions as to in other FCC matters will we be viewed more favorably if we follow the suggestion and less favorably if we don’t follow the suggestion.
It comes at a time when the same administration is taking action against museums and colleges whose interpretation of American history doesn't align with the president. The chairman's "opinion" offers a list of acceptable programming that fits their views. They even name acceptable composers.
And it uses the words "public interest obligation." An obligation isn't voluntary.
Along the same lines comes this week's edition ofWNYC's "on The Media,"
The Man With a Plan to Reshape Broadcast TV | On the Media | WNYC Studios
Late night host Stephen Colbert has accused CBS of spiking an interview for fear of backlash from the Federal Communications Commission. On this week’s On the Media, hear about the MA...
which is now downlodable (and can be heard) from the above link. The Trump Administration is using a rather novel interpretation of public service requirements to get radio and TV stations to fall in line with its ideology. Also on the show is an interview with Daniel Suhr, an attorney and advocate for the far right, who has been pushing (along with President Trump) Chairman Carr to clamp down on programs, including late night talk shows, that interview people from the left.
I listened to the entire show earlier this morning and Mr. Suhr's comments are sometimes less than enlightening. For example, he comments that the Congress at the request of the citizenry put the kabosh on CPB funding. This, as @TheBigA has noted on other threads, is simply not true--Congress was acting *only at the request of one man, President Trump.
At any rate, bringing all of this back to the current topic and Amos' comment, the Administration will use the threat of license revocations and cancellations to get its way. It has done so in the past (even if there is no legal basis for it) and I expect it will do so on the topic at hand in both the present and future as well.
In fact, in states such as Arkansas where the government wants to cancel its PBS affiliation, the "citizenry" has formed a group to reverse that decision.
The citizenry didn't elect this president to defund public broadcasting. It wasn't something he ran on at all. In fact there are many things he's doing that weren't part of his campaign. They were in project 2025, which he disavowed. Now we see everything in that manifesto coming to be, including the closure of the VOA, which congress is trying to bring back. The ideologues in charge represent a very small part of the republican party. They could never get elected had they run on their ideology. But they attached themselves to someone else, and he gave them control of the government. Instead of activist democrats, we have activist ideologues.
So now the ideologues are pushing their view of patriotism as part of the public interest obligation. Once again, patriotism is something that should come from the citizenry, not the government. If the citizenry really feels patriotic, they will do it without being told by the government.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
With him, it's personal. Had nothing to do with his campaign. Unlike other POTUSes who understood that their statements and appearances represented how the rest of the world viewed our nation, he only cares about being able to denigrate and eliminate things he personally does not like. One of those "things" is the media, which he will attack every time there is a report about him, or his administration, that varies even one iota from his POV. To him, "public broadcasting" means "that nasty NewsHour" and because he has a limited understanding of how PBS operates (especially its financing of individual programs) he thought eliminating funding for public broadcasting would automatically kill the NewsHour. He must be apoplectic that it is still on the air, and it is just a matter of time before the ordinary citizens who want PBS restored and fully funded will be the subject of one of his diatribes ... probably along the lines of "those stupid people in Arkansas actually want that left-wing news program on the air so it can attack me ... they're obviously not good Americans".
Only a MAGAfied Bicentennial Minute with some coercion involved.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
Such a minute would completely pass over Abraham Lincoln, and possibly claim that the South won the Civil War.
How does one define "Pro America" content. But in this case we have to look at Chairman Carr, his allies in congress and White House making the definitions.
The moment Chairman Carr says somebody does not meet the "Pro American" content. Then its going to be the same stuff we saw during The View and The Late Show.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
"Trump is great" after every legal ID?
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
"Sit, Donnie, sit."
Before the government decided it had to tell broadcasters what to do, the History Channel had already begun celebrating the 250th:
I saw a few of them, and as you can expect, they're all sponsored.
I saw a few of them, and as you can expect, they're all sponsored.
Yeah, the FCC shouldn't be telling broadcasters what to do though I'm also one of the few people who support removing censorship of profane content on the airwaves.
The idea of broadcasters airing the national anthem and/or pledge of allegiance at the start of the broadcast day is just as dumb as doing it in school or before a sporting event, but I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the fact that Mexico requires their stations to air the "Himno Nacional Mexicano" at the start and end of every broadcast day, along with government-sponsored messages throughout the day. Not giving Brendan Carr any ideas through...
If stations decide to air "pro-America" content, they should do so without being forced to; though if a legal mandate comes and they keep the definition of "pro-America" vague, stations could always decide to air messages about some of the truly great achievements - like the abolishing of slavery, New Deal, end of Jim Crow, and/or the enactment of the Civil Rights Act. In my local vicinity, stations could air content about the Columbia Basin Project (under the New Deal) as part of their mandate. Again, I'm not advocating for any "pro-America" content to be mandatory.
The idea of broadcasters airing the national anthem and/or pledge of allegiance at the start of the broadcast day is just as dumb as doing it in school or before a sporting event, but I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the fact that Mexico requires their stations to air the "Himno Nacional Mexicano" at the start and end of every broadcast day, along with government-sponsored messages throughout the day. Not giving Brendan Carr any ideas through...
If stations decide to air "pro-America" content, they should do so without being forced to; though if a legal mandate comes and they keep the definition of "pro-America" vague, stations could always decide to air messages about some of the truly great achievements - like the abolishing of slavery, New Deal, end of Jim Crow, and/or the enactment of the Civil Rights Act. In my local vicinity, stations could air content about the Columbia Basin Project (under the New Deal) as part of their mandate. Again, I'm not advocating for any "pro-America" content to be mandatory.
The FCC does not require anything except a legal ID at the start and end of the broadcast day.
In most other nations of, at least, this hemisphere, the National Anthem is required at both times, as well as some cases where it must be played during the day on national holidays, like the equivalent of of Independence Day. In one country where I lived, it had to be payed at the start of all pro sports events. It also had to be played at the start of movies, plays ans other shows on the main historical event days.
In my experience, we all liked the chance to sing the anthem. It was a collective experience for everyone, no matter which party or philosophy we held.
In any case, this was a suggestion, not a mandate. There are many other “American” things that canberecognized besides dams and government projects, such as inventions like telegraphy and the phone. Or art ranging from “Citizen Kane” to Hemingway and Count Basie. The moon landing, the transistor, and countless medical and scientific advances.
This is rich, coming from an administration that is continually yapping about European governments and how they don't respect free speech, to the point of launching a U.S. government backed VPN (Freedom.gov) which is supposed to allow poor benighted Europeans the same access to content as enlightened, free Americans. I can't wait!
He also attached it as part of stations' public interest obligations.
The "suggestions" were the specific programming examples he gave, such as playing the national anthem or John Philip Sousa.
Meanwhile, the NAB says it will provide content for stations:
www.insideradio.com
NAB Expands Efforts To Help Stations Celebrate America 250.
With America’s 250th approaching, FCC Chair Brendan Carr is urging stations to air patriotic programming — and the National Association of Broadcasters is on board. As for the semiquincentennial, NAB
We'll be replaying the July 4, 1976 bicentennial show with the number ones starting in 1937.