FCC’s Chief Diversity Officer Wants Private Broadcasters to Pay a Sum Equal to Their Total Operating Costs to Fund Public Broadcasting
By Matt Cover
Mark Lloyd, newly appointed Chief Diversity Officer of the Federal Communications Commission, has called for making private broadcasting companies pay licensing fees equal to their total operating costs to allow public broadcasting outlets to spend the same on their operations as the private companies do.
Lloyd presented the idea in his 2006 book, Prologue to a Farce: Communications and Democracy in America, published by the University of Illinois Press.
Lloyd’s hope is to dramatically upgrade and revamp the Corporation for Public Broadcasting through new funding drawn from private broadcasters.
The CPB is a non-profit entity that was created by Congress and that currently receives hundreds of millions of dollars in federal subsidies each year. In fiscal 2009, it is receiving an appropriation of $400 million.
“The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) must be reformed along democratic lines and funded on a substantial level,” Lloyd wrote in his book.
“Federal and regional broadcast operations and local stations should be funded at levels commensurate with or above those spending levels at which commercial operations are funded,” Lloyd wrote. “This funding should come from license fees charged to commercial broadcasters. Funding should not come from congressional appropriations. Sponsorship should be prohibited at all public broadcasters.”
Along with this money, Lloyd would regulate much of the programming on these stations to make sure they focused on “diverse views” and government activities.
“Local public broadcasters and regional and national communications operations should be required to encourage and broadcast diverse views and programs,” wrote Lloyd. “These programs should include coverage of all local, state and federal government meetings, as well as daily news and public issues programming.
“In addition, educational programs for children and adults, and diverse, independent personal and cultural expression should be encouraged,” he wrote.
Dennis Wharton, Executive Vice President of Media Relations at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) told CNSNews.com that his organization, which represents radio and television broadcasters, supports public broadcasting, but that that support should come from the public in general not broadcasters alone.
“NAB supports federal funding for public broadcasting,” said Wharton. “However, we would oppose efforts to fund public broadcasting through fees assessed against free and local broadcasters who are experiencing the worst advertising recession in 50 years.”
Lloyd wrote Prologue to a Farce while a senior fellow at the liberal Center for American Progress. In that capacity, he co-authored the 2007 report The Structural Imbalance of Political Talk Radio, which concluded that 91% of talk radio programming is conservative and 9% is “progressive.”
The report argued that large corporate broadcasting networks had driven liberals off the radio, and that diversity of ownership would increase diversity of broadcasting voices.
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10 comments:
this is the same guy who praised the like of hugo chavez and now he is doing and end around of the "fairness doctrine" we had better wake up
First, why should CPB be funded to the same level as private broadcasters? Private companies are in it for profit - period. Therefore, they pay high salaries if they see high returns. We need CPB, without doubt, but if they are free from having to make a profit, why do they need the same amount to spend?
Second, ending local sponsorship is a huge mistake. If money only comes from the government, there is no accountability. NPR is already one of the most liberal radio formats on the air. Don't we want them to have some accountability to the people who listen? If there is no local sponsorship, then no one will be able to raise issues over quality of broadcasting - which means that eventually, there will be stations with no listeners. What good is that?
Finally, does that mean that the sitting administration gets to decide the bent or the format? Watch the hysteria if a conservative president is elected.
A 100% tax on operating costs will shut down ANY radio station. Of course, these dollars will be funded to NPR.
another idiot working for this idiot administration. thanks sjd
Typical dumbocrat. Free speach only applies to them. They have tried and failed to compete in talk radio so thry try to close it down.
Somebody remind me what happened to alot of those Russian czars.
Another freedom lost, thanks Obama for destroying our country. I hope that all of the moderates that voted for this idiot have realized their mistake by now. You are surely paying a price for voting for this incompetant person.
maybe he should give 100% of his paycheck to the government and he can work for free too
A Czar has no power, so I think Radio stations should line up to sue based on the constitutionality of the czar's directions as soon as he tries to implement his agenda. If enough line up, the federal gov't won't be able to keep up with the legal costs associated.
Sure they will keep up with it...they will either raise our taxes or print more money. Or both.
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