leasing a station to the Chinese Government

[Mike Ward]

On Tue, Jun 28, 2011 at 2:30 PM, Donna Halper <dlh@donnahalper.com> wrote:
> I am still mystified by how Radio One is getting away with doing this-- I
> mean, I understand it's capitalism and owners can do what they want, but
> somehow leasing a Boston station (WILD) to the Chinese government seems
> wrong somehow.  I guess the FCC no longer enforces "public interest" rules
> anymore...

Well, according to the article, the station is not being leased to the
Chinese government.  It's being leased to a company called Douglas
Broadcasting, and that company's being tight lipped about what
financial arrangement is taking place with China/CRI.

Maybe it's considered like MHz Worldview, the public TV network that
reairs foreign programming in English - including China's state-run TV
network news.

The bottom line here is that the FCC doesn't get involved in
programming decisions (unless you curse or show nudity on TV!), and
Douglas Broadcasting is presumably an American company re-leasing its
time on WILD to CRI...much like other leased stations that re-sell
time to block buyers.

It is kind of odd, though.