Isn't the best regulation of television the regulation of the marketplace -- exercised by remote controls and consumer preference? Do we really need more government control over our entertainment choices?

Federal regulators, concerned about the effect of television violence on children, will recommend that Congress enact legislation to give the government unprecedented powers to curb violence in entertainment programming, according to government and TV industry sources.

The Federal Communications Commission has concluded that regulating TV violence is in the public interest, particularly during times when children are likely to be viewers -- typically between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., FCC sources say.

The agency's recommendations -- which will be released in a report to Congress within the next week, agency officials say -- could set up a legal battle between Washington and the television industry.

For decades, the FCC has penalized over-the-air broadcasters for airing sexually suggestive, or "indecent," speech and images, but it has never had the authority to fine TV stations and networks for violent programming.

The report -- commissioned by members of Congress in 2004 and based on hundreds of comments from parents, industry officials, academic experts and others -- concludes that Congress has the authority to regulate "excessive violence" and to extend its reach for the first time into basic-cable TV channels that consumers pay to receive.

First Amendment experts and television industry executives, however, say that any attempt to regulate TV violence faces high constitutional hurdles -- particularly regarding cable, because consumers choose to buy its programming.

I'm particularly disturbed by the attempt to grap power over cable television -- after all, the "broadcast spectrum as public resource" argument doesn't work nearly as well there. In addition, it sets a precedent that would allow the so-called "Fairness Doctrine" to be extended to cable news channels if the Democrats ever seek to reimpose government control of news reporting -- creating a Brave New World of regulated media and strangled voices.

Posted by: Greg at 10:37 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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