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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Art Of Writing Good Regulations, Harold W. Furchtgott-Roth
The Art Of Writing Good Regulations, Harold W. Furchtgott-Roth
Federal Communications Law Journal
In this introduction to the three pieces that follow, Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth proposes his view that the regulation-drafting process relies more on art than science. The Commissioner sets out a four-category sliding scale to evaluate regulations, and lists the most frequently noted problems with FCC-promulgated rules.
Communications Media And The First Amendment: A Viewpoint-Neutral Fcc Is Not Too Much To Ask For, Helgi Walker
Communications Media And The First Amendment: A Viewpoint-Neutral Fcc Is Not Too Much To Ask For, Helgi Walker
Federal Communications Law Journal
In the "new economy" driven by the telecommunications industry, the FCC is a busy agency. Given the myriad legal issues faced daily by agency decisionmakers and the lack of perfect clarity in major communications legislation, a few legal missteps here and there by the FCC might be expected. In one area, however, the public can and should demand a first-rate agency record: regulation of communications media without regard to the viewpoint expressed via that media, as the First Amendment requires. This Article offers two case studies in which the FCC arguably took viewpoint-discriminatory actions with regard to regulated broadcasters, and …
The Fcc’S Implementation Of The 1996 Act: Agency Litigation Strategies And Delay, Rebecca Beynon
The Fcc’S Implementation Of The 1996 Act: Agency Litigation Strategies And Delay, Rebecca Beynon
Federal Communications Law Journal
Since it began promulgating rules to implement the local competition provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the FCC has been under attack in the courts. The road has been a rough one, and the Commission has lost on a good many issues. The Commission has regularly accused its opponents in these legal battles-chiefly the incumbent local exchange carriers-of using litigation to impede the implementation of the 1996 Act’s local competition provisions. As discussed in this Article, if litigation has in fact slowed the introduction of competition in the local exchange markets, the Commission itself must share some of the …
The Fcc’S Financial Qualification Requirements: Economic Evaluation Of A Barrier To Entry For Minority Broadcasters, Yale M. Braunstein
The Fcc’S Financial Qualification Requirements: Economic Evaluation Of A Barrier To Entry For Minority Broadcasters, Yale M. Braunstein
Federal Communications Law Journal
When analyzing issues surrounding minority ownership of media, scholars have often noted that policy discussions in the area suffer from the linked problems of inadequate data and a lack of tools with which to analyze the data that do exist and might be collected. In Issue Three of Volume 51, several authors made this particular observation. To address this problem, This Article shows how one may use economic analysis and a financial model of a "typical" radio broadcaster to quantify the effects of specific policies. Specifically, the Article focuses on barriers to entry imposed by the FCC’s financial qualification requirements …
Too Much Power, Too Little Restraint: How The Fcc Expands Its Reach Through Unenforceable And Unwieldy “Voluntary” Agreements, Bryan N. Tramont
Too Much Power, Too Little Restraint: How The Fcc Expands Its Reach Through Unenforceable And Unwieldy “Voluntary” Agreements, Bryan N. Tramont
Federal Communications Law Journal
The character of a regulatory agency is most severely tested at the zenith of its power. When the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC" or "Commission") breaks free of the limitations imposed by the law, the Commission’s leadership sets its own course. It is at these times, when legal oversight is at a minimum, that it becomes most important for the agency to "pay more attention to justice." Unfortunately, as outlined in this Article, the FCC has often failed this test of institutional character. In at least three contexts, the Commission has proven to be something less than a benevolent master. In …
The Fcc And Section 312(A)(7) Of The Communications Act Of 1934: The Development Of The “Unreasonable Access” Clause, Philip J. Gutwein Ii
The Fcc And Section 312(A)(7) Of The Communications Act Of 1934: The Development Of The “Unreasonable Access” Clause, Philip J. Gutwein Ii
Federal Communications Law Journal
Section 312(a)(7) of the Communications Act of 1934 requires that broadcast stations provide legally qualified candidates for federal elective office with reasonable access to advertising time on behalf of their candidacies. The FCC has long struggled with defining "reasonable access." On September 7, 1999, the FCC issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order in which it ruled that broadcast stations may not refuse a request for political advertising time solely because the station does not sell or program such lengths of time. This ruling came in response to a petition for reconsideration of an October 3, 1994 Declaratory Ruling, filed by …
Letter Of Introduction, M. Anne Swanson
Letter Of Introduction, M. Anne Swanson
Federal Communications Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Growing Media Consolidation Must Be Examined To Preserve Our Democracy, Paul Wellstone
Growing Media Consolidation Must Be Examined To Preserve Our Democracy, Paul Wellstone
Federal Communications Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Viacom-Cbs Merger: Media Competition And Consolidation In The New Millennium, Andrew Jay Schwartzman
Viacom-Cbs Merger: Media Competition And Consolidation In The New Millennium, Andrew Jay Schwartzman
Federal Communications Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Joint Statement Of Sumner M. Redstone Chairman And Chief Executive Officer Viacom Inc. And Mel Karmazin President And Chief Executive Officer Of Cbs Corp., Summer M. Redstone, Mel Karmazin
Joint Statement Of Sumner M. Redstone Chairman And Chief Executive Officer Viacom Inc. And Mel Karmazin President And Chief Executive Officer Of Cbs Corp., Summer M. Redstone, Mel Karmazin
Federal Communications Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Reflections On The Fcc’S Recent Approach To Structural Regulation Of The Electronic Mass Media, Lili Levi
Reflections On The Fcc’S Recent Approach To Structural Regulation Of The Electronic Mass Media, Lili Levi
Federal Communications Law Journal
No abstract provided.
A History And Analysis Of The Federal Communications Commission’S Response To Radio Broadcast Hoaxes, Justin Levine
A History And Analysis Of The Federal Communications Commission’S Response To Radio Broadcast Hoaxes, Justin Levine
Federal Communications Law Journal
Courts have long held that the government can punish an individual for falsely shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theater. But what is a government agency to do when the venue is none other than a theater of the imagination heard throughout the nation? Ever since the broadcast of Orson Welles's War of the Worlds, the FCC has struggled to find a balance in preventing harmful broadcast hoaxes while still encouraging radio to develop vibrant, imaginative programming. What defines a hoax deemed harmful to the public interest versus one that constitutes mere playful entertainment? This Article details the major events and …