The Telecommunications Act of 1996 and Digital Television
-NTIA
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A short document outlining portions of the Telecommunications
Act of 1996 that are relevant to the work of the Commission.
Includes discussion of DTV licensing, minimum service requirements,
ancillary and supplemental services, public interest requirements,
the DTV construction schedule, and the return of the analog spectrum.
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Distributed to Advisory Committee members at and in preparation for the meeting held October 22-23, 1997.
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A Primer on the Public Interest Obligations of Broadcasters
-NTIA
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Prepared for the Commission by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, this document outlines the current public interest obligations on broadcasters. Part I enumerates the most significant public interest obligations that apply to television broadcasters; Part II discusses the Constitutional basis for such regulation.
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Distributed to Advisory Committee members at and in preparation for the meeting held October 22-23, 1997.
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The "Public Interest" Standard: The Elusive Search for the Holy Grail
-Irwin G. Krasnow
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The author, a former general counsel of the National Association of Broadcasters, gives the history of the public interest standard and documents important FCC and Supreme Court interpretations of it. Finally, he offers some general observations on the nature of the public interest standard in the context of today's regulatory environment.
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Distributed to Advisory Committee members at and in preparation for the meeting held October 22-23, 1997.
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Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters: An Examination of Possible Regulatory Models
-Robert Decherd
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The CEO, Chairman of the Board, and President of A.H. Belo Corporation offers two possibilities and rationales for regulating the television broadcasting industry in the digital age. One framework discusses deregulation of the television industry while the other discusses the continuation of the existing regulatory regime.
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Distributed to Advisory Committee members at and in preparation for the meeting held April 14, 1998.
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A Proposal for Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters
-Gigi Sohn
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Submitted by the Executive Director of the Media Access Project, this document presents recommendations to the FCC, a proposal for voluntary action by the broadcast industry, additional recommendations to Congress, and an alternative recommendation to Congress in lieu of public interest regulation.
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Distributed to Advisory Committee members at and in preparation for the meeting held April 14, 1998.
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Six-part Slate magazine debate on free air time for candidates
-Norman Ornstein & Barbara Cochran
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Norman Ornstein, co-chair of the Gore Commission and resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, argues in favor of a plan giving free air time to candidates. Barbara Cochran, president of the Radio-Television News Directors Association, argues against.
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Posted December 18, 1997.
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Opposing views on free TV time for political candidates
-Paul Taylor & Eddie Fritts
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Paul Taylor, founder and director of The Free TV for Straight Talk Coalition, and Eddie Fritts, president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, present their positions in this debate (posted 12/17/97).
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Reprinted with permission from Campaigns and Elections Magazine, December / January 1998 issue.
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The Unconstitutionality of Federally Mandated "Free Air Time"
-P. Cameron Devore
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Mr. DeVore, a senior partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP argues that any government-mandated program giving free airtime to political candidates would almost certainly be found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on First and Fifth Amendment grounds.
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Testimony presented at the meeting held March 2, 1998.
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Paul Taylor's Testimony before the Gore Commission
-Paul Taylor
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The Executive Director of The Free TV for Straight Talk Coalition, argues in favor of creating a system under which candidates for political office would receive free air time from broadcasters as part of their public interest obligation. He outlines the benefits of such a system, and suggests some practical ways it might be implemented.
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Testimony presented at the meeting held December 5, 1997.
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Robert Wright's Testimony before the Gore Commission
-Robert Wright's
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The President and CEO of NBC, Inc. presents an industry perspective on public interest obligations and the transition to digital television. Noting that digital broadcasting is still in its infancy, he urges the Commission to formulate its recommendations based on principles of breadth, inclusiveness, flexibility, and innovation. He discusses several likely models digital broadcasting may ultimately take, and observes that only one of them -- the multiple free, over-the-air broadcast services model -- creates a basis for making changes to existing public interest obligations.
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Testimony presented at the meeting held December 5, 1997.
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