Television:
Who could imagine a world without
television? Maybe in the deepest and darkest corners of the world, there may be
a family without the latest 62-inch big screen HD TV; I personally do not know
of anyone without at least two TVs.
It is safe to
say that since television has infiltrated our living rooms, American lives have
changed dramatically. “Remember the old days when people sat around and
listened to the radio, allowing their imaginations to carry them off to faraway
lands filled with adventure, romance, and intrigue?” (Gibson, 2010). People
used to talk to each other, they used to read and write letters, and they used
to form their own opinions. Television has changed all of this – for the
better, right? Well, maybe, maybe not.
Television is
mass media with vast mass appeal. Human beings are very visual creatures, and television
brought the big wide world into our very own living rooms. Women in small town
USA finally knew instantly, (well, almost), what the fashion forward French
housewife was wearing this season. They knew which new refrigerator or washing
machine they wanted their husbands to buy them next. Boys wanted to be The Lone Ranger, and everybody loved I Love Lucy. “Nothing says "modern
American life" like a frozen slab of Salisbury steak next to a brownie.
And we basically have TV to thank for this delicious piece of Americana.”
(Gibson, 2010). Maybe it was a
great coincidence that color television became popular together with the “flower
power” movement, in the mid to late 1960th.
When Ted
Turner introduced his Cable Network News channel in the early 1990th,
it was clear that we really do live in the Land of Oz. He was the great wizard
who, with the help of his many minions, has succeeded in telling us what to
believe, how to live, which way to vote, and who to hate. Yes, we’ve come a
long way since the introduction of television.
Gibson, J.
(2010). How television changed our lives.
Downloaded on 7/15/12 from http://www.mademan.com/mm/how-television-changed-our-lives.html
Satellite Radio:
Talk
about a monopoly. There were only two true satellite radio stations in the
entire country, and they merged. SiriusXM is now the only commercial choice if
one wants to listen to satellite radio. According to the dictionary that makes it
a monopoly: “Exclusive control by one group of the means of producing or
selling a commodity or service.” (American Heritage Dictionary, 2012). Aren’t
monopolies against the law? “Laws against monopolies in the
United States are the Sherman Act of 1890 and the Clayton and Federal Trade
Commission Acts of 1914. The Sherman Act of 1890 makes it illegal to
"monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, ... any ... trade or
commerce..." This law is aimed at market structure. The U.S. Justice
Department has the responsibility for enforcing this law.” (Baker, 2000). And
yet, here we are – one satellite radio provider for the entire country.
Why
do we even need satellite radio? Why are thousands of free radio channels not
good enough any longer? My take on this: Political Correctness! Political
correctness has usurped the right to free speech. The few dictate to the many
what they can listen to, watch, say, read, and who knows what else. Well, I
think that everyone has a right to say, and hear, George Carlin’s “Seven Words
You Can Never Say on Television.” While TV has actually caught up to most of
these words (watch Two and a Half Men!), radio stations are too dependent on
advertisers, who in turn are dependent on Joe Q. Public, to go past maybe the
first two or three.
I
believe in free speech and I do not think anyone has the right to censor what I
choose to listen to. That is why I do not mind paying for satellite service,
and that is why I do not care if they are a monopoly.
American
Heritage Dictionary. (2012). Monopoly.
Downloaded on 7/15/12 from http://ahdictionary.com/
Baker,
S. (Nov. 21, 2000). Monopoly and
antitrust. Downloaded on 7/15/12 from http://hspm.sph.sc.edu/Courses/Econ/CLASSES/antitrust/antitrust.html
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