Net Neutrality

Just to remind us that corporate shills aren't strictly the domain of the democratic party...

GOP senators declare war on Net neutrality

“I am deeply concerned by the direction the FCC appears to be heading,” Sen. Hutchison said in a statement. “Even during a severe downturn, America has experienced robust investment and innovation in network performance and online content and applications. For that innovation to continue, we must tread lightly when it comes to new regulations."

Soo... Premptively banning regulation that presumably bans regulation will... Allow for innovation? I'm not following, KB.

Will Talk Radio Get the Wake Up Call?

Here's a good op-ed piece by conservative radio host Michael Medved. He does a good job stepping outside of himself and making what I think is a very fair assessment of the talk radio landscape.

Increasingly, interests of commercial talk radio in a fractured market diverge from the needs of a viable national movement. A radio show (locally or nationally) that draws just 5% of the available audience can achieve notable success in ratings and revenue, but a conservatism that connects with only a disgruntled, paranoid 5% of the public will wither and die.

This is why I think the Fairness Doctrine, while a good idea in theory, is ultimately a waste of time. Talk radio (either side) is little more than a positive feedback loop for the intellectually incurious, doing nothing to win converts, but only trying to hang on to their congregation. Liberals bitching about it are just spinning their wheels, thinking somehow you can inject any sort of real debate into a medium that offers "infotainment" at best. It's like having a discussion on the benefits of Title IX in sports during Monday Night RAW.

As stated in previous posts, I believe the real fairness doctrine of the 21st century is net neutrality. The idea of ANY information being censored or given priority by any entity in the public OR private sector is truly frightening.