Re: The Fate of WEVD-partisan opinion

[Robert Cohen <rlcm17...>]

I launched an original, English-language, Jewish culture and identity in 
Baby Boomer America show on EVD in the mid-70s ("Yedid Nefish"), which 
continued for the rest of the decade.  It was made possible, really (aside 
from organizational underpinning and a limited degree of corporate 
sponsorship), by the then-extant requirement that stations devote some time 
to community service programming.  (I no longer remember the exact 
language.)  Since they had to give away some time anyway, I think EVD 
figured, OK, let's give this show a chance:  sounded creative, would score 
points with the Jewish community, etc.)

That community service requirement disappeared long ago--I thought (and it 
would figure) during the Reagan presidency, but am not sure.  Once it did, 
my show--which had devoted listeners who still missed it many, many years 
later and which showcased new Jewish music as well as Jewish educators, 
writers, artists, religious teachers, and other personalities (and ordinary 
amcha folk, too)--would never have had a prayer of making it on the air.

--Robert Cohen


> >  But even purely commercial stations have some duties to
> >the public, like doing community reporting and having a certain amount of
> >"educational" programming, in order to renew their licenses. (This is 
>often
> >nominal, I'm well aware).
>
>This was the main point I was trying to make previously. Thank you, Rokhl 
>for saying it more eloquently than I could.
>
>I'm all for free enterprise and the laws of supply and demand, but we do 
>have anti-trust laws in this country and they were enacted in the early 
>twentieth-century for a good reason--to break up huge, monopolizing 
>cartels. I'm of the opinion that broadcasters' responsibilities to earn 
>their licenses were severely watered down during the Clinton years and will 
>be even further watered down even now. All I would ask is that 
>broadcasters' perform a certain amount of community service--which I 
>believe they promised to do after they were recently given for a very low 
>fee digital broadcasting rights.
>
>In any case, I disagree with Winston that we are trying to tell a 
>businessman how to run his business. The fact is that the stations are 
>granted licenses to use certain frequencies. I believe these licenses are 
>granted by board members of the FCC, who are appointed by our elected 
>officials. If the broadcasters owned the licenses or the frequencies, I 
>wouldn't be asking them for some community service. But they don't own the 
>air--at least last time I checked, they didn't.
>
>Eliott Kahn


_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

---------------------- jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+