Fairness Doctrine an Essential Tool Thanks for all you do to open and keep open America’s lines of communication. FAIR’s Extra! is itself an important channel of information on which I and many rely. Jim Naureckas’ “Public Media and the Decommodification of the News” and Julie Hollar’s “Putting the Public Back in Public Media” (11/09) provide a good cataloging of problems with getting “public” media to serve the public interest. But, of course, all radio and television was originally required by law to be “broadcast in the public interest.” That law, the Communications Act of 1934, is still on the [...]
Search Results for: Aura Bogado
Nov
01
2009
Right-Wing Witch Hunt Reaches FCC
Glenn Beck and friends attack diversity officer Mark Lloyd
By Aura Bogado
When the Obama administration’s Federal Communications Commission underwent its first hearing by the House oversight committee on September 17, the agenda largely centered on FCC chair Julius Genachowski’s upcoming broadband plan and net neutrality—yet before it was over, a Republican representative from Oregon felt compelled to examine the Commission’s new associate general counsel and chief diversity officer, Mark Lloyd. Noting that he was motivated by a letter “from a number of interest groups,” Rep. Greg Walden said he did “some research [on Lloyd] in the last 24 hours,” and was troubled by his findings. Walden declared that “there’s a lot [...]
May
01
2009
Arpaio vs. Immigrants
Those most affected left out of debate
By Aura Bogado
As the country braces for another attempt at immigration reform on Capitol Hill later this year, it’s likely that we’ll see plenty more of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, his supporters and his detractors in the media. But if the past year is any indication, we may not hear from the people that are most affected by the Maricopa County, Ariz. sheriff’s policies—those who have been racially profiled, regardless of their immigration status. Arpaio, who has been in office 16 years, bills himself as “America’s Toughest Sheriff.” (Extra! 6/1/09) Denounced for brutal and unconstitutional practices by human rights advocates for more than [...]
