Media Policy – Figuring Out Where to Start (notes from Fred October 19, 2005)

Sources:

• Center for Digital Direction (Jeff Chester in DC)
• Yes! Magazine
• Community Media Review

Public Interest and the Media

• Thinking about impact on community
• Politics
• Democracy
• Diversity of ideas/culture

Points of view:

• corporate
• regulatory
• consumer affairs – ask if PEG access raises cable rates

Two other parts of Media discussion:

• Media Culture
• Infrastructure Development

Media Policy – Levels of Regulation:

• Federal
• State
• Local (county/municipality)
• GAT (global, formerly WTO) *new

Regulatory Categories (based on type of software; differences in business models & computer management):

• Broadcasting
• Cable
• Telephony
• Internet

Monopolies DON’T:

• innovate
• diverse
• do the unpopular
• share
• price competitively
• they sell services at a low prize to kill smaller competitors, then jack up prices (price gouging)

Emerging Issues:

• Copyright (Open source and free distribution, Creative Commons)
• Definition of communication service vs. cable service (Title 1 & 2)
• Must carry: A FCC regulation requiring that cable TV systems must carry all locally-licensed television stations. This was done to prevent cable from destroying free over-the-air television.
• elastic demand for cable keep prices high and censor local stations
• General Public License (GPL) agreement
• WIFI (or now WIMAX)
• Public ownership / monopoly
  
• Broadband over powerlines