By Douglas Holtz-Eakin
The young drop coverage to avoid higher premiums
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
Michael Copps, a longtime Democrat on the Federal Communications Commission, says he's retiring by year's end.
Federal regulators are adopting new rules intended to give cable viewers more channel choices.
A federal appeals court has restored a longstanding ban that prevents media companies from owning both a newspaper and a television station in the same market.
National Public Radio’s President and CEO Vivian Schiller simply gushed over President Obama’s proposed budget that preserved the funding for public broadcasting that House Republicans would just as soon cut. In expressing her gratitude to the White House, Ms. Schiller helped Republicans make their case.
Government regulators on Tuesday gave Comcast Corp., the country's largest cable company, clearance to take over NBC Universal in a deal that is certain to transform the entertainment industry landscape.
With the Obama administration on the verge of embracing new "network neutrality" rules increasing government oversight of the Internet, it's difficult to tell who objects more: Republicans who denounce the move as a federal power grab or Democrats who dismiss the reforms as too weak to do the job.
New rules aimed at prohibiting broadband providers from becoming gatekeepers of Internet traffic now have just enough votes to pass the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday.
Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Michael Copps recently said, "America is not producing the body of news that democracy needs to conduct its civil dialogue." Translation: Fox News and other sources are reporting too much news on the shortcomings of big government to Americans, a truth that hurts big government and the bureaucrats who enjoy its power. So Fox should limit its reporting like the sophisticated, major news networks. In similar fashion, Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, West Virginia Democrat, wants Fox to just "go away," and no doubt this is because like Mr. Copps, he believes a free and open press inhibits his agenda.
A proposal to prohibit broadband providers from blocking or discriminating against Internet traffic flowing over their networks has an uncertain future with just lukewarm support from large phone and cable service providers and fierce opposition from Republicans.
Former network newsman Dan Rather last week called on the president to apply to the press the government initiative used to rescue the banking and automotive industries. "Media reform should be an immediate national priority," Mr. Rather insisted, and some in Congress agree.
He says he still plans to speak about broadband expansion and other issues as a private citizen.
Commission member Michael Copps, a Democrat and a staunch opponent of industry consolidation, said he shares "the concerns about competition and have numerous other concerns about the public interest effects of the proposed transaction, including consumer choice and innovation."
