Remember me? The kid you brought a red Schwinn bike in 1959? I’m back with a new Christmas list.
Hey, I know I’m a little old for this, but when you get to be my age it’s mostly ties and sweaters from everybody else, and I really, really need this stuff. Please help me out.
…Santa, could you bring me a new FCC? My old one’s on the blink.
The Federal Communications Commission, you know, is the government agency that regulates TV and radio stations. It’s run by a five-member board that, in recent years, hasn’t been as focused on the interests of ordinary citizens as much as the huge-and-getting-huger media companies.
That makes me sad, Santa.
The FCC should be operating in the public’s behalf, since the airwaves that carry broadcast programming are publicly owned. That’s right, Santa! The air you and your eight tiny reindeer will be flying through across the U.S. is a public resource, not private property.
So maybe Christmas Eve you could pack your sleigh with a few new commissioners eager to serve the public interest, rather than big business…
- By FRAZIER MOORE
AP Television Writer
