DOCSLIB.ORG

Uber Television: Internet-Only Television Stations

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Uber Television: Internet-Only Television Stations UCLA UCLA Entertainment Law Review Title Uber Television: Internet-Only Television Stations Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/45r646ws Journal UCLA Entertainment Law Review, 23(1) ISSN 1073-2896 Author Perritt, Henry H. Jr. Publication Date 2016 DOI 10.5070/LR8231034310 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Uber Television: Internet-Only Television Stations Henry H. Perritt, Jr.* TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������66 II. STATUS QUO ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������68 III. A PERFECT STORM OF INFLUENCES ������������������������������������������������������������������������73 A. Audiences Are Moving to the Internet .......................................................73 B. Targeted Advertising is Flourishing ..........................................................77 C. Work Is Fragmenting .................................................................................81 D. New Tools Facilitate Content Collection and Moving It Around ..............84 E. Content Providers Are Proliferating ..........................................................87 F. Capital Markets Are Opening Up ..............................................................88 IV. INTERNET-ONLY TELEVISION’S EMBRACE OF DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES �����������������89 A. Content Capture and Production ...............................................................90 1. Application of the Coase Theorem .....................................................90 2. Using Stringers for Newsgathering ....................................................91 3. Stringer Recruitment and Training �����������������������������������������������������94 * Professor of Law and former dean at Chicago-Kent College of Law, the law school of Illinois In- stitute of Technology. S.B. Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT; S.M. Management, MIT Sloan School; J.D., Georgetown University Law Center. Member of the bar: Virginia (inactive); Pennsylvania (inactive); District of Columbia; Maryland; Illinois; Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Perritt was a member of President Clinton’s transition team, focusing on the Federal Communications Commission and subse- quently advised the White House on its regulatory philosophy for the Internet. He served on the National Academy of Sciences Computer Science and Telecommunications Board. He has written fifteen books and about a hundred law review articles, many on technology and law and on entertainment and law. He is a commercial helicopter and private airplane pilot, and an extra class radio amateur (K9KDF). The author acknowledges a considerable intellectual debt to his friend, news helicopter pilot Eliot O. Sprague, who provided idea incubation for this article through many conversations about disruptive news technologies, television programming, and patterns of viewership. Dylan Jost, actor, screenwriter, and Uber driver, provided comments on an early draft and educated the author about the realities of driving for Uber. Albert J. Plawinski, the author’s student and frequent co-author of articles relating to drones and their impact on newsgathering and other applications, provided his usual tough comments and sugges- tions, particularly on the sections relating to targeted advertising and video technology. Mark Aitken, Vice President of Advanced Technology, Sinclair Broadcast Group, and Fred Baumgart- ner, Television Product Manager at Nautel, were generous in sharing their views on the impact of ATSC 3.0; Eric Paradis, president of NewsCastic, and David Tynan, CEO of Huntington Broadcast Management Group, brainstormed with the author about Newscastic’s model for bringing stringers into the mainstream of television newsgathering. Dan Katz, Associate Professor of Law at Chicago-Kent, also made useful suggestions and emphasized the importance of live sports programming. © 2016 Henry H. Perritt, Jr. All rights reserved. 65 66 UCLA ENTERTAINMENT LAW REVIEW [VOL. 23:65 4. Stringer Management .........................................................................97 5. Production of Entertainment Content ...............................................101 6. Legal Relationships with the Station ................................................102 B. Programming ...........................................................................................103 1. News .................................................................................................104 2. Entertainment Programming ............................................................105 3. Stitching It Together .........................................................................106 4. Technologies .....................................................................................107 C. Distribution ..............................................................................................109 D. Advertising Revenue ................................................................................ 111 V. LIGHTENING THE LEGAL LOAD ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 111 A. No Need for FCC Licenses ...................................................................... 111 B. Avoidance of Copyright Licensing Requirements for Traditional Content ................................................................................. 112 1. Fragmentation of Ownership ............................................................ 112 2. Motives to Slow Adoption of Disruptive Technologies ������������������� 116 C. Navigating Changes in Must-Carry And Retransmission Consent Fees ... 117 VI. BUSINESS MODELS AND HURDLES �����������������������������������������������������������������������120 A. Costs ........................................................................................................120 1. Labor ................................................................................................120 2. Infrastructure ....................................................................................122 B. Return On Investment ..............................................................................123 C. Revenue ....................................................................................................123 1. Advertising .......................................................................................124 2. Subscriptions ....................................................................................125 3. Licensing ..........................................................................................126 4. Data ..................................................................................................126 VII. WHY HASN’T SOMEONE DONE THIS ALREADY? ��������������������������������������������������126 A. Most Likely Candidates ...........................................................................127 B. Obstacles .................................................................................................128 VIII. THE 2016 BROADCAST INCENTIVE AUCTION PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO JUMP-START IMPLEMENTATION ����������������������������������������������������������������������130 I. INTRODUCTION Television is gradually moving to the Internet, and the FCC’s Broadcast In- centive Auction1 provides an opportunity to complete the transition. The Auction opens up a window of opportunity through which Internet-only television stations can become a reality. This new type of television station can embrace not only an alternative distribution mechanism, but also other technological and workplace 1 The Incentive Auction is a major step in the FCC’s long-term plan to have television broadcast stations surrender frequencies that then can be reassigned through forward auctions to broadband wireless carriers. Section VIII. discusses the auction process in more detail. 2016] UBEr TElEViSiON 67 developments that can reduce costs and increase the quality of program content,2 thereby accommodating shifting audience preferences for Internet distribution. More people than ever are watching television on the Internet.3 Every month, more and more cable customers pull the plug on their subscriptions.4 Local televi- sion stations are spending millions of dollars on figuring out how to establish a rele- vant presence on the Internet, even as they spend more to upgrade their transmitters and control rooms to accommodate digital technologies.5 Consumers seeking the benefit of this technological revolution often are disappointed, however. The plethora of multiple login credentials and interfaces is frustrating. This article argues that dramatic reduction in the cost of technology for tele- vision production and distribution, combined with the profound trend toward a gig economy,6 makes it possible to provide television entertainment through “stations” existing entirely on the Internet. By embracing a set of disruptive technologies7 ful- ly, video-programming entrepreneurs can earn a return on investment by providing a more satisfactory experience to television viewers. In order to do so, however, entrepreneurs must avoid traditional practices that restrict most television content available on the Internet. This will require cutting the cord8 with traditional content producers who routinely insist on restricting Internet users to particular channels and services to which they must subscribe.9
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Decline of Broadcasters' Public Interest Obligations*
    SPECTRUM POLICY PROGRAM POLICY BACKGROUNDER March 29, 2004 The Decline of Broadcasters’ Public Interest Obligations* The Communications Act of 1934 and its predecessor, the interest obligations, but they didn’t necessarily object to Radio Act of 1927, mandates that the Federal their codification because it provided them with more Communications Commission regulate broadcasting in the certainty about the standard by which they would be judged “public interest, convenience, or necessity.” This at renewal time. And, of course, they continued to use continues to be the mandate of the FCC, and the “public prime broadcast frequencies free of charge. interest” part of the phrase appears 40 times in the Telecommunications Act of 1996. What broadcasters really hated, however, was the prospect that they might lose their licenses. Licenses to use the The “public interest” mandate is notoriously vague. airwaves were hugely valuable. In one famous phrase, they Contentious debate over its meaning has been almost were described as a “license to print money.” Thus, continuous since passage of the Communications Act 70 incumbent broadcasters did everything they could to reduce years ago. the threat that at the end of their license term they might lose their license. In other words, they attacked the essence For purposes of this historical account of the public interest of the public interest standard, which was fundamentally mandate, we give it the meaning: “compensation to the procedural rather than substantive in nature. public for the use of the public airwaves.” This interpretation provides a simple framework to explain how Their lobbying was highly successful. Over time, the the public interest mandate has evolved since it was first duration of broadcast licenses was increased from 3 to 5 to embedded as the foundation of broadcast law.
    [Show full text]
  • Broadcast License Renewal and the Telecommunications Act of 1996 Lili Levi University of Miami School of Law, [email protected]
    University of Miami Law School University of Miami School of Law Institutional Repository Articles Faculty and Deans 1996 Not With a Bang But a Whimper: Broadcast License Renewal and the Telecommunications Act of 1996 Lili Levi University of Miami School of Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.law.miami.edu/fac_articles Part of the Communications Law Commons Recommended Citation Lili Levi, Not With a Bang But a Whimper: Broadcast License Renewal and the Telecommunications Act of 1996, 29 Conn. L. Rev. 243 (1996). This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty and Deans at University of Miami School of Law Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Articles by an authorized administrator of University of Miami School of Law Institutional Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Not With a Bang But a Whimper: Broadcast License Renewal and the Telecommunications Act of 1996 Liu LEvi In 1969, public outrage derailed a bill providing that the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC" or "Commission") could not con- sider competing applications for broadcast licenses unless it first found that renewal of the incumbent's license would not be in the public interest.' Citizen groups claimed that eliminating comparative challenges to incumbent broadcasters was "back-door racism" and reinforced the under-representation of minorities in broadcasting.2 They decried the bill as a "vicious ... attempt to limit the efforts of the black community to challenge the prevailing racist practices of the vast majority of TV stations."3 When the FCC thereupon issued a policy statement adopting a similar reform of the comparative renewal process, it was reversed by * Professor of Law, University of Miami School of Law.
    [Show full text]
  • Restoring Historical Understandings of the “Public Interest” Standard of American Broadcasting: an Exploration of the Fairness Doctrine
    International Journal of Communication 7 (2013), 89–109 1932–8036/20130005 Restoring Historical Understandings of the “Public Interest” Standard of American Broadcasting: An Exploration of the Fairness Doctrine CHRISTINA LEFEVRE–GONZALEZ University of Colorado, Boulder The “public interest” standard is a phrase that American broadcast regulation has not clearly defined throughout its history. Media scholars have attempted to locate the “true” meaning of the public interest standard by historicizing its use through broad analyses of broadcast regulation, but this approach has provided inadequate frameworks for understanding how the public interest standard has informed broadcast policy. By centering its historical analysis on the Fairness Doctrine, this article uncovers four dominant definitions for the public interest standard: first, as an enforcer of structure and efficiency of the spectrum; second, as part of the trusteeship of licensed broadcasters; third, for social justice and reform; and fourth, for the tastes and preferences of the public. The “public interest” is a phrase that, in the words of Richard Weaver (1953), possesses a “charismatic” quality. Political scientist Frank Sorauf (1957) described the concept as reflecting “the highest standard of governmental action, the measure of the greatest wisdom or morality in government” (p. 616). Some scholars believe that this idyllic phrase, an important rhetorical feature of American broadcast policy, possesses an indiscernible meaning that is susceptible to political will. Legal scholars Krattenmaker and Powe (1994) describe the standard as “either an empty concept or one that is infinitely manipulable” (p. 143). Zlotlow (2004) argues that the poorly defined standard “was both an empty concept and infinitely manipulable” (p.
    [Show full text]
  • Accountability in Public Service Broadcasting: the Evolution of Promises and Assessments
    Accountability in Public Service Broadcasting: The Evolution of Promises and Assessments NAKAMURA Yoshiko Today, the world’s public service broadcasters, including NHK in Japan, are increasingly called upon to define their remits and make them public, and to present the assessments as to whether they are indeed being carried out. Since public service broadcasters throughout the world operate with funds collected through license fees (receiving fees in Japan) or public funds such as govern- ment subsidies, they are obliged to be accountable to the audiences and citi- zens paying for the service. Until now, public service broadcasters have sought to ensure accountability by meeting institutional requirements such as publication of mandatory annual reports and accounts, handling of audience complaints, and responses to audience needs through broadcasting commit- tees. Public service broadcasters obviously need to be accountable in order to maintain trust with their audiences. This basic assumption is shared by European media scholars and researchers. Cultural Dilemmas in Public Service Broadcasting, by Gregory Ferrell Lowe and Per Jauert (Lowe and Jauert, 2005), which not only focuses on public service broadcasting quality, performance assessment, and the need for accountability but also suggests possible strategies for public service broadcasters in the face of a changing media environment, offers valuable thought on these issues. This paper will present case studies of the initiatives taken by public broadcasters in Sweden, Denmark, the U.K., and Japan regarding accountability and discuss mainly institutional reforms for strengthening accountability. REASONS FOR STRENGTHENING ACCOUNTABILITY Since the 1990s, advances in cable television technology and the availability of satellite broadcasting have made it possible for broadcasters across the world to provide multiple channels.
    [Show full text]
  • Public Service Broadcasting in Transition: a Documentary Reader
    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Other Publications from the Center for Global Center for Global Communication Studies Communication Studies (CGCS) 11-2011 Public Service Broadcasting in Transition: A Documentary Reader Monroe Price University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Marc Raboy Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/cgcs_publications Part of the Broadcast and Video Studies Commons Recommended Citation Price, Monroe and Raboy, Marc. (2011). Public Service Broadcasting in Transition: A Documentary Reader. Other Publications from the Center for Global Communication Studies. Retrieved from https://repository.upenn.edu/cgcs_publications/1 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/cgcs_publications/1 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Public Service Broadcasting in Transition: A Documentary Reader Abstract This is a book of documents, comments, and cases that has been prepared, at the request of the European Institute for the Media, for the use of government officials and citizens interested in strengthening public service broadcasting in transition societies. In this book we try to provide a small chest of tools and background information that will be of assistance. We start, in Chapter 1, with an overview of some of the general principles of public service broadcasting, and include pertinent comments on each of them. Here, as throughout the book, we concentrate on issues of governance and financing, with some attention as well ot issues surrounding programming. In Chapter 2, we turn to current issues in the European-level debate, partly from the perspective of European expectations and standards that are employed in evaluation and accession processes.
    [Show full text]
  • Overview Not Confine the Discussion in This Report to Those Specific Issues Within the Commission’S Regulatory Jurisdiction
    television, cable and satellite media outlets operate. Accordingly, we do Overview not confine the discussion in this report to those specific issues within the Commission’s regulatory jurisdiction. Instead, we describe below 1 MG Siegler, Eric Schmidt: Every 2 Days We Create As Much Information a set of inter-related changes in the media landscape that provide the As We Did Up to 2003, TECH CRUNCH, Aug 4, 2010, http://techcrunch. background for future FCC decision-making, as well as assessments by com/2010/08/04/schmidt-data/. other policymakers beyond the FCC. 2 Company History, THomsoN REUTERS (Company History), http://thom- 10 Founders’ Constitution, James Madison, Report on the Virginia Resolu- sonreuters.com/about/company_history/#1890_1790 (last visited Feb. tions, http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/amendI_ 8, 2011). speechs24.html (last visited Feb. 7, 2011). 3 Company History. Reuter also used carrier pigeons to bridge the gap in 11 Advertising Expenditures, NEwspapER AssoC. OF AM. (last updated Mar. the telegraph line then existing between Aachen and Brussels. Reuters 2010), http://www.naa.org/TrendsandNumbers/Advertising-Expendi- Group PLC, http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/ tures.aspx. Reuters-Group-PLC-Company-History.html (last visited Feb. 8, 2011). 12 “Newspapers: News Investment” in PEW RESEARCH CTR.’S PRoj. foR 4 Reuters Group PLC (Reuters Group), http://www.fundinguniverse.com/ EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM, THE StatE OF THE NEws MEDIA 2010 (PEW, company-histories/Reuters-Group-PLC-Company-History.html (last StatE OF NEws MEDIA 2010), http://stateofthemedia.org/2010/newspa- visited Feb. 8, 2011). pers-summary-essay/news-investment/.
    [Show full text]
  • Syracuse Peace Council V. Federal Communications Commission
    St. John's Law Review Volume 63 Number 3 Volume 63, Spring 1989, Number 3 Article 5 D.C. Circuit Allows FCC to Kill Fairness Doctrine: Syracuse Peace Council v. Federal Communications Commission Roger S. Antao Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/lawreview This Comment is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at St. John's Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in St. John's Law Review by an authorized editor of St. John's Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COMMENTS D.C. CIRCUIT ALLOWS FCC TO KILL FAIRNESS DOCTRINE: SYRACUSE PEACE COUNCIL v. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Beginning in 1927, the federal government prohibited the vast majority of Americans from freely expressing themselves over the public airwaves,1 and bestowed upon a lucky few the exclusive li- ' See Radio Act of 1927, Pub. L. No. 632, 44 Stat. 1162 (1927) (repealed 1934). Prior to 1927, the federal government was required to issue a broadcast license to anyone who met certain general technical requirements. See Hoover v. Intercity Radio Co., 286 F. 1003, 1006- 1007 (D.C. Cir. 1923). The federal government is given the authority to regulate broadcasting by the com- merce clause. See U.S. CONST. art. I, § 8, cl. 3.; National Broadcasting Co. v. United States, 319 U.S. 190, 227 (1943) ("The licensing system established by Congress in the Communica- tions Act of 1934 was a proper exercise of its power over commerce"). The first amendment states in relevant part that "Congress shall make no law .
    [Show full text]
  • Governance and Accountability in Public Service Broadcasting: Lessons from the Latest BBC Charter Review
    Governance and Accountability in Public Service Broadcasting: Lessons from the Latest BBC Charter Review NAKAMURA Yoshiko There are currently over 30 public broadcasting networks in the world.1 Public broadcasters vary widely in terms of the services they provide, the scale and type of funding they receive, and their degree of presence in or impact on the societies they serve. But common to almost every public broadcaster in the world has been its increasing exposure to competition from commercial broadcasters as advances in broadcasting technology from the late 1980s on have made satellite broadcasting, cable systems, and other multichannel ser- vices more widely available. Such competition has grown even more intense since the industry began switching to digital technology in the mid-1990s. Of course, the development of broadcasting technology is intensifying competi- tion not only between public and commercial broadcasting but also among commercial broadcasters. But because public broadcasting is publicly fund- ed—usually by government subsidy and/or reception fees (receiving fees; also called “license fees,” “broadcasting fees,” and so on, depending on the coun- try) levied on every person or household that possesses a television set—it is under pressure not only to compete in terms of delivering services that use those funds efficiently, but also to clarify its contributions to society at large and keep viewers and listeners convinced of its value. The transition from ana- log to digital broadcasting, a challenge that now confronts almost every coun- try, is another factor adding urgency to debate on the evolving nature of public broadcasting. Over the past few years, the Royal Charter of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in the United Kingdom has undergone the latest of its decennial reviews.
    [Show full text]
  • Federal Communications Commission Enforcement and Repeal of the Fairness Doctrine
    University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform Volume 20 1987 "In Stark Contravention of Its Purpose": Federal Communications Commission Enforcement and Repeal of the Fairness Doctrine Michael J. Bolton University of Michigan Law School Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjlr Part of the Communications Law Commons, First Amendment Commons, and the Law and Politics Commons Recommended Citation Michael J. Bolton, "In Stark Contravention of Its Purpose": Federal Communications Commission Enforcement and Repeal of the Fairness Doctrine, 20 U. MICH. J. L. REFORM 799 (1987). Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjlr/vol20/iss3/5 This Note is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform at University of Michigan Law School Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform by an authorized editor of University of Michigan Law School Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. "IN STARK CONTRAVENTION OF ITS PURPOSE": FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION ENFORCEMENT AND REPEAL OF THE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE• The fairness doctrine1 has long been a controversial feature of broadcast regulation. Attacked on constitutional grounds as an infringement of first amendment rights and on public policy grounds as poor law, the doctrine has now been abandoned by its enforcer, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission). In August 1987, the FCC concluded that the fair­
    [Show full text]
  • Thirty Years After “A Marketplace Approach to Broadcast Regulation”
    6 - brenner (Do Not Delete) 3/30/2014 8:48 AM EXPLAINING YOURSELF: THIRTY YEARS AFTER “A MARKETPLACE APPROACH TO BROADCAST REGULATION” DANIEL BRENNER It’s an enormous, humbling honor to be asked to speak about the work of a person whose work I have long admired—me. The first time I was ever asked to speak about something I wrote was in the eighth grade. I was asked to speak about it in the principal’s office at Beverly Vista Elementary School. And like today’s article, it was a co-written effort. In that case my co-writer was Paul Diamond, the publication was entitled the “Merry Fat Cat Fink,” and it was a satirical newsletter as only satirists in the eighth grade can accomplish. The faculty advisor behind it slithered out of sight, and Paul and I were required to gather up the few copies. In that case I must say I picked my writing partner well, at least in terms of a pedigree. His dad, I.A.L Diamond, had won the Oscar for writing the film “The Apartment” four years earlier with Billy Wilder. Paul would go on to write a film about our senior year of high school which pretty much bombed at the box office but launched the acting career of Steve Guttenberg of “Police Academy” fame. Anyway, I was lucky enough to join another wonderful partner to write the article that was published in the 1982 Texas Law Review,1 Mark Fowler. Anyone who has worked with Mark knows he is a supportive, fresh thinker who disdained the trappings of high office, even though he held one for nearly six years.
    [Show full text]
  • THE DEREGULATION of COMMERCIAL TELEVISION Heidi R
    Fordham Urban Law Journal Volume 12 | Number 2 Article 1 1985 THE DEREGULATION OF COMMERCIAL TELEVISION Heidi R. Young Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ulj Part of the Communications Law Commons Recommended Citation Heidi R. Young, THE DEREGULATION OF COMMERCIAL TELEVISION, 12 Fordham Urb. L.J. 373 (1984). Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ulj/vol12/iss2/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by FLASH: The orF dham Law Archive of Scholarship and History. It has been accepted for inclusion in Fordham Urban Law Journal by an authorized editor of FLASH: The orF dham Law Archive of Scholarship and History. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE DEREGULATION OF COMMERCIAL TELEVISION I. Introduction In August 1984, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) released the Report and Order in the Matter of the Revision of Programming and Commercialization Policies, Ascer- tainment Requirements, and Program Log Requirements for Com- mercial Television Stations (Deregulation Report and Order).' The Deregulation Report and Order affects the FCC regulatiohs con- cerning programming policies,2 ascertainment requirements,3 program 1. In re The Revision of Programming and Commercialization, Policies, As- certainment Requirements, and Program Log Requirements for Commercial Tele- vision Stations, Report and Order, MM Docket No. 83-670 (Aug. 21, 1984) [hereinafter cited as Deregulation Report and Order]; see also In re The Revision of Programm- ing and Commercialization Policies, Ascertainment Requirements, and Program Log- ging Requirements for Commercial Television Stations, Notice of Proposed Rule- making, 94 F.C.C.2d 678 (1983) [hereinafter cited as Deregulation Notice].
    [Show full text]
  • Defining the Public Interest in Terms of Regulatory Necessity
    Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development Volume 17 Issue 1 Volume 17, Winter 2003, Issue 1 Article 3 Defining the Public Interest in Terms of Regulatory Necessity Stuart A. Shorenstein Lorna Veraldi Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/jcred This Symposium is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at St. John's Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development by an authorized editor of St. John's Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DEFINING THE PUBLIC INTEREST IN TERMS OF REGULATORY NECESSITY STUART A. SHORENSTEIN AND LORNA VERALDI* From the time of the 1934 enactment of the Communications Act, its touchstone has been the "public interest, convenience and necessity."' The phrase, as applied to broadcasters, would provide the rationale for a regulatory regimen designed to ensure that government licenses were used to serve the public and that qualified operators of those licenses used that privilege for public benefit. If not, the privilege could be taken away. For more than a half century the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was the veritable tail that wagged the industry's dog as a sometimes heavy regulatory hand permeated nearly every aspect of station ownership, operation and control. There has been considerable debate over just what Congress intended when, in creating a single agency to regulate both wired and wireless communication, it borrowed the standard of "public interest, convenience, and necessity" from predecessor statutes governing telephony2 and radio.3 Over the years most *Stuart A.
    [Show full text]