8TH-FLOOR AIDES SEE BIGGER PUBLIC INTEREST ROLE FOR TV
NEW ORLEANS -- TV’s public interest role has become more important since Sept. 11, said Susan Eid, aide to FCC Chmn. Powell, on NCTA convention panel here: “What we saw on September 11 was a voluntary cooperation between broadcasters and cable. But if, God forbid, anything should ever happen, we need to make sure people don’t lose communication.” She said Sept. 11 confirmed importance of spectrum for public safety reasons and uses: “The reality is, government interest has shifted to freeing up spectrum for public use and interest. There’s definitely an increased concern with that not happening.” Stacy Robinson, aide to Comr. Abernathy, questioned whether Sept. 11 actually changed Commission’s agenda, but acknowledged that “we realized what a pivotal source of information TV is” for the public in times of national emergency and “we've refocused on the importance of security in the sense of wanting to secure broadcast.”
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Obvious differences among aides to FCC Commissioners were evident on issue of programming content and Comr. Copps’s “bully pulpit” efforts to verbally strong-arm cable into self-censorship. His aide, Susanna Zwerling, said: “What Commissioner Copps is worried about is what he calls the race to the bottom. He believes we need to enforce indecency regulations. When he talks to broadcasters, they say they have to compete with cable, which doesn’t have the same regulations on content. He believes we need to look at the bigger picture and wants a resurrection of the voluntary broadcast code, especially during the family hour, or when children are more apt to be watching.”
Other 8th-floor aides didn’t jump on family hour bandwagon. Robinson said: “People have been talking a lot about the adult content on cable. But there’s a great diversity of programming. Commissioner Abernathy believes in giving consumers choice and in promoting competition.” Added Eid: “You can always just change the dial. We need to take a step back. There’s got to be some parental control in the home to go along with whatever government might do.”
Aides urged cable to maintain open dialog to help policymakers better understand implications of regulations. Robinson said: “We need to know how regulations affect business so the more the commissioner knows, the better. The industry is moving so rapidly we all have to stay educated or how else can we make sound decisions?” Comr. Martin’s aide Catherine Bohigian agreed: “I'd like to hear more about the future applications being developed and how regulations impede that process. Above all, we want to make sure regulation doesn’t hurt innovation.” Eid said: “Until you see actual products in the market I think it’s hard to regulate it. You have to tread lightly and not overstep because consumers want these services.” -- Valerie Milano
NTCA Convention Notebook…
NCTA convention in New Orleans drew 17,000 people, which means attendance was off 1/3 from last year when there were 24,000 in Chicago. Record was 31,000 at New Orleans show in 2000. Some exhibitors and those in executive suites complained of slow foot traffic , but others said they were pleased with convention overall. About 200 exhibitors attended this year, down from just over 300 last year.