Re: Jackass,Viacom&CBS

["Dan Billings" <dib9@gwi.net>]

Rob wrote:
> The marketplace is a poor regulator. Does the AM band contain more, or
> less, interference since "deregulation"?

I would attribute this problem to poor regulation by the government.
Deregulation of ownership limits is not responsible for the poor assignment
of AM frequencies, that is a result of government policy.  If you attribute
the problem to stations not following their license requirements, the
problem is still due to poor regulation by the government.  Nothing in the
1996 Telecom Act said stations could exceed the limits of their licenses.  I
would get the FCC out of the business of worrying about what bad words
Howard Stern uses and have them put more resources into enforcing technical
requirements and operating limits of licenses.

> Are advertisers
> getting better, or worse, treatment at the hands of broadcasters since
> "deregulation"?

I think a lot of advertisers like the idea of being able to buy a package of
stations from one company instead of being forced to deal with a different
sales rep from every station.

> Has average time spent listening increased, or decreased,
> since "deregulation"?

I think this trend is a result of more choices in entertainment media, not
deregulation.

Rob wrote:
> No; it is the broadcasters who are irresponsible, particularly when it
> comes to news coverage.

So you would require every station to carry news?  I think that's silly.
The current trend  is niche marketing.  People listen to WBZ when they want
the news and then turn to their favorite music station when they want music.
What's wrong with that?  Why force the music station do news if that's not
what their audience wants?

-- Dan Billings, Bowdoinham, Maine