DISQUS

Technology Liberation Front: The Technology Liberation Front » Archive » Monday Night Football and Desperate Regulators

  • Stephen · 4 years ago
    But the real question is who should decide this question: five members of the FCC, or 300 million Americans with their remote controls?

    I keep hearing this line, and it always rings hollow. We're talking broadcast TV here, not cable. I feel the same way about radio: they're both a pervasive presence, and to shoot back with "well don't watch it" is lazy and dishonest. Besides, not only was this primetime, it was a FOOTBALL game! I think the SuperBowl halftime show is a better example (I didn't think the MNF clip was bad at all), but in either case, viewers didn't even have the option to "decide with their remote controls." Viewers ostensibly DID decide with their remote controls to watch a sporting event, not an exhibition, and were still "treated" to the displays anyway. If viewers want to vote with their remote controls, they should be allowed to: on cable, where there has to be a conscious decision to invite it into your home. Ditto satellite radio. But unless you remove the tv from your home, or the radio from your car, then broadcasts over the airwaves are going to be pervasive, and should be subject to some sort of regulation.
  • James Gattuso · 4 years ago
    Viewer don't have an option to turn off football? Having your TV on is not a conscious decision? Come on! You really should get out more -- there's a lot more to do than watch TV, and a lot more on TV than football (especially if you think it might offend you, something that viewers should certainly be on notice of by now.)
  • Stephen · 4 years ago
    Yeah, you've got a point James. Let's let all the shit in the world over the public airwaves. Hardcore porn in primetime. Anybody who doesn't like it doesn't have to own a tv. Or go to stores with tv's. Or own cars with radios. Or let your kids have friends with either. How about a little full frontal nudity on the nightly news? It's my fault for watching tv at all. "Get out more?" You're basically telling me that it's a parent's responsibility to shield their kids from anything they don't want them to see, but the only way to do that is to become Amish. Tell me, do you support having ANY decency standards on tv or radio at all? If so, what is that line?
  • Merideth Carleton · 3 years ago
    Have you seen this before? It's a number guessing game: http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mental.... I guessed 53528, and it got it right! Pretty neat.