By Julianne LaJeunesse- University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

House Energy and Commerce Committee members met with Department of Transportation Sec. Ray LaHood, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, and transportation experts Wednesday, to discuss who- the federal government or states- would be responsible for ensuring drivers avoid text messaging, using cellular phones, and working GPS systems while on the road.

The committee members agreed that distracted driving is dangerous and should be regulated, and some committee members, such as Virgin Island’s Representative Donna Christensen (D-V.I.), even admitted to texting or using their cell phones while driving. However, when it came to the question of who should regulate the rules of the road, the committee split.

Rep. John Shimkus (R- Ill.) put it bluntly: “Distracted driving is bad,” he said. However, he added, “I have never been for the federal government extorting highway funds to obtain some means to an end that should be decided through the state.”

Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) also expressed questions about potentially changing laws, saying he urged his colleagues to create thoughtful, flexible, and “sound” policy.

“Although we share a justified measure of concern about the relationship between use of certain technological devices and driver safety, we have to guard against enthusiastically overly prescriptive statutes… that in the long term may stifle innovation and ultimately show them to be of marginal benefit to the cause of improving driver safety,” he said.

Other representatives, such as Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), said federally mandating laws that would reduce distracted driving may seem “weary,” but said Congress could consider federally mandating public education on distracted driving.

As of last month, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association, six states including California, New York, and Oregon, had banned nearly all cell phone use while driving, and 18 states had banned text messaging while driving.

By Laura Smith, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski described efforts to provide nation-wide broadband as a major infrastructure challenge and outlined some of the economic benefits the plan could provide.

“If you want to find a job in any Fortune 500 companies in this country, you have to go online. Well what does that mean for the country right now in this economic community? We need to find ways to get everyone online,” Genachowski said Tuesday during remarks made at an event for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

Genachowski added that in addition to the role broadband can play in increasing opportunity for employers, broadband can also aid in reducing government costs by encouraging agencies to place more of its services online.

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) says Congress should “drive A Stake Through The Heart” of depression-era censorship and deny all federal funding to the FCC if they wish to restore the fairness doctrine. (0:17)

 

 Standard Podcast [0:17m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

FCC Commissioner Chairman Julius Genachowski says broadband is important to the nation’s goals and Congress has entrusted the FCC to provide broadband access to all Americans (0:20).

 

 Standard Podcast [0:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

By Joseph Russell- Talk Radio News Service

The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) unveiled the details of the congressionally mandated national broadband program Thursday during a Commissioners meeting.

The national broadband program aims to provide every American access to broadband internet. The FCC announced that they would be launching a website, www.broadband.gov, and kicking off staff workshops to organize the presentation of their report. The completion of the program is expected to occur on February, 17 2010.

“Broadband is so important to achieving our national goals. Congress has entrusted the FCC with the responsibility of developing a strategic plan…to ensure that all people of the United States have access to broadband capability,” said Commissioner Chairman Julius Genachowski.

The recent transfer to digital television (DTV), which the commissioners hailed as a success, will in many ways serve as a template for the broadband program.

“We had a great system. Our teams worked around the clock to resolve any problems expeditiously, a key factor to success. I’d say our teams of 200 plus people really put a face and name to the FCC. . . we become an outreach organization, no longer a bureaucratic agency,” said Field Operations Captain Roger Goldblatt

Talk Radio News Service White House Correspondent Victoria Jones speaks with Bill Lake, the Digital TV Coodinator for the Federal Communications Commission. Bill has all the information on what folks need to do to prepare for the impending transition from analog to digital television service. (7:38)

 

 Standard Podcast [7:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In what is being seen as a set-back for the TV industry, the Supreme Court Tuesday morning tentatively gave the Federal Communications Commission license to regulate the use of curse words during live broadcasts. Opponents of the close 5-4 ruling say the FCC did not adequately explain its policy shift.

The court explicitly refused to discuss freedom of speech concerns about the regulation, saying that discussion would have to come in another case.

The FCC has long regulated obscene and indecent language on broadcast television, but until 2006 it did not take action over so-called “fleeting expletives,” such as using the F-Word and S-Word spontaneously in a non-literal sense.

In 2006 the FCC issued fines for Fox’s broadcast in 2002 of a live appearance by Cher in which she said, “I’ve also had critics for the last 40 years saying that I was on my way out every year. Right. So f*** ‘em.” The FCC also fined a 2003 broadcast in which Nicole Richie said, “Why do they even call it ‘The Simple Life?’ Have you ever tried to get cow s*** out of a Prada purse? It’s not so f***ing simple.”

Fox appealed the fine to the courts, arguing that the FCC had not justified the change in their policy, since in 2004 the FCC allowed a broadcast of Bono using a fleeting expletive to go without fine.

Today on the hill Michael J. Copps, Chairman of Federal Communications Commission (FCC), spoke about the delay in digital television transition until June 2009. He said that the FCC-team are doing their best at the moment to prepare America for the future transition.

This was said at a hearing held by the Communications, Technology and Internet Subcommittee with participants such as Congressman Cliff Stearns (R-FL) and Anna Gomez, Acting Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information U.S. Department of Commerce.

Copps explained that to help America make the transition, a lesson from the past has to be learn. He said that that is the reason that the FCC-team now focuses much more on customer education, since it presented past problems.

Stearns discussed the digital transition in many states and that it had been implemented successfully. He said that five percent of the Americans were not able to make the transition and suggested that a solution would be to help only these five percent. In that way, the rest of the money invested in the FCC program could be repaid and cost efficiency would occur, said Stearns.

Gomez responded that money that is not being used in making the transition easier will be repaid. Gomez also stated that the extending of the transition was necessary and that America will be much more prepared for it in June. Gomez said, “Working together we can get the Digital Television Transition right. The American people deserve nothing less.”

By Suzia van Swol, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service
During a press briefing on the fairness doctrine, Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said that,
“we can celebrate a victory of sorts today, after taking a message to the American people about radio censorship, the potential of muzzling radio talk show hosts. We were able to force a vote this week on the Broadcasters Freedom Act that would bar the FCC from bringing up what is misnamed the fairness doctrine.”

Democrats have offered an alternative to the bill which DeMint said, “closes the front door to the fairness doctrine, the democrat majority has opened the back door for additional mischief by allowing the FCC, and actually telling the FCC that they shall promote and encourage diversity and communication media.” The senator went on to state that, “right now the vote is going on on the floor , but because of the pressure from the American people, both parties are supporting the prohibition against this censorship of free speech and freedom of the press.”

Congressman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) said that fairness doctrine needs to be stopped from coming back because we don’t need the FCC “becoming the nanny police for freedom of speech in America.” Walden said that together with Representative Mike Pence (R-Ind.), he had a provision in the spending bill that “would have precluded the FCC from spending any money to put the fairness doctrine back in place.” However, this language was taken out when the omnibus passed in the house yesterday. Walden stated that he “calls on the House leadership to not strip the language” out of the senate bill.

Following today’s press briefing, the amendment passed by a large majority 87-11.