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59 Fed. Comm. L.J. [i] (2006-2007)

handle is hein.journals/fedcom59 and id is 1 raw text is: Federal Communications Law Journal FORMERLY FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS BAR JOURNAL VOLUME 59 DECEMBER 2006 NUMBER 1 Articles Broadcast Technology as Diversity Opportunity: Exchanging Market Power for Multiplexed Signal Set-Asides By M ichael M . Epstein ............................................................................. 1 This Article proposes an access system based on a theory of quid pro quo: a bargained.for-exchange in which broadcasters would trade media access for market power. Under this quid pro quo approach, the FCC would administer a scaled metric whereby the greater a media company's audience reach, the more access that company must provide to citizens with diverse and local content. Since digital technology permits broadcasters to multiplex their television signal bandwidth into multiple signal programming streams, an opportunity exists for the government to require public access to one or more of these programming streams in return for relaxing caps on broadcast ownerships that currently prevent a company from owning stations that reach more than 39% of the national television audience. You Said What? The Perils of Content-Based Regulation of Public Broadcast Underwriting Acknowledgments By Andrew D . Cotlar ......................................................................... 47 Public broadcast stations in the United States are forbidden to air promotional announcements in exchange for payment from commercial entities. However, these stations must acknowledge any financial contribution from donors that support particular programs without promoting the goods and services offered by those donors. While the FCC has attempted to maintain the conceptual distinction between promotional and nonpromotional information, it has struggled to apply this distinction within the context of an evolution in advertising practice. As a result, many noncommercial educational licensees find it difficult to apply the FCC's rules. A careful analysis of how the FCC underwriting determinations yields the unmistakable conclusion that the entire process has become a clear lesson in the perils of content-based regulation. The FCC enforcement process is inconsistent and opaque and subjects nonprofit entities to potentially economically crippling fines while impinging on the editorial integrity that is the hallmark of their First Amendment liberties. This Article concludes that Congress should revise the prohibition on

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