Broadcasting in the public interest

Re: Muting loud TV ads

Adapted from a comment offered in response to the NPR news story

Whatever way people choose to use the public airwaves should be consistent with the public interest. If most people believe that the sound levels of various programs and other messages should be kept at a uniform level, then (in a democratic society) this is how the airwaves would be used.

There are other considerations, too, if we want to examine whether the airwaves are being used in a way consistent with the people's will. There are many ways that we could characterize various programs to determine whether they serve the public interest. Random surveys could ask people to tag various broadcasts with relevant labels: truth vs. deceit -- enlightening vs. pandering to baser instincts, etc. Those broadcasts that garnered a constellation of labels that most people agree are strongly correlated with broadcasts that promote the public interest would be favored by a rational public policy. Those that have labels that are not associated with contribution to the public good would be discouraged, perhaps with a fee charged to those who choose to broadcast such programming. Which uses of the airwaves are highly consistent with the public interest, and which uses are better understood as merely promoting private interests? A democratic political process could use random surveys to help answer this question, and a system of fees could ensure that the reality is made to match what the people want.

If the public airwaves are used to promote private interests, it makes sense that those who use the public resource in this way should pay a fee to the people in consideration of the fact that the people's property is being put to private use.

If messages broadcast in pursuit of private profit were promoting behavior that most people feel is contrary to the public interest, (e.g.: increased consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol, or purchase of gas-guzzling SUVs), then these messages could have HIGHER fees attached, to keep the prevalence of these messages within acceptble limits

Mon Jan 04 2010 17:31:46 GMT-0600 (Central Standard Time)

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