IPTV - Newton Minow and John McCain

Saw the following, but the link given did not work as provided.

The Web: Internet TV ready for prime time
United Press International ^ | March 9, 2005 | Gene Koprowski

CHICAGO, March 9 (UPI) -- Newton Minnow once famously called television a "vast wasteland." Referring to the mix of action-adventure programming, situation comedies, variety shows, quiz shows and cheap movies, Minnow, who at the time was chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, also told TV executives he was not convinced that viewers' "taste is as low as some of you assume."One rightly wonders what Minnow, who was speaking of the nascent TV business in 1961, would think of the fare being offered by today's Internet protocol television, also known as IPTV. A flurry of deals in the past two months suggests that major phone and cable TV companies are taking IPTV seriously and are promising new services, much in the same way they embraced Internet telephony a year or so ago. The problem for viewers, however, is most programming from regular TV and cable is not available on IPTV and, in many cases, the new medium offers only cheap adult entertainment. Despite the dearth of content -- a new wasteland, Minnow might say -- executives told UPI's The Web that IPTV is getting ready for prime time, whether anyone wants it or not."There is a lot of noise in the marketplace," said Kenny Van Zant, executive vice president of marketing at Motive Inc. in Austin, Texas, a firm that works with IPTV networks. "Vendors are clamoring to get into this space. The time is right. The technology is viable. Now is the time to get going with trials -- and that's happening in Europe, the United States and Asia."

Pardon me, but who is Newton Minow (Minnow)?

Biography: The Newton Minow Page

Wow.

And this:

Newton Minow is back
(Apr 12, 2004 12:00 PM)

Last week, 43 years after coining one of most memorable phrases in the history of television, 78-year-old Newton Minow was back in old form, continuing to make broadcasters uncomfortable. This time Minow asked a new generation of FCC members to adopt rules that would require television and radio stations to provide free time for local political races in their communities.

***See mine below.

Under the proposal, broadcast stations would be required to designate 20 minutes each day to “significant local races” during the 30 days prior to a general election. Five minutes of that would have to be in primetime.

Minow, along with former FCC general counsel Henry Geller, argued that such a rule is needed because there’s evidence that many broadcasters are not paying sufficient attention to local elections. “The broadcast licensee, as a public trustee, has a special obligation to present political broadcasts, including serving as an effective local outlet in this respect,” argued Minow and Geller.

The NAB, long opposed to any rules that would require free time during the lucrative election season, again responded negatively. “Way too often, broadcasters offer time to politicians and they don’t take advantage of it.”

In an unrelated bit of broadcast trivia on Minow, it is said that the S.S. Minnow (with two “n”s), the 40-foot boat used in the vintage TV series “Gilligan’s Island,” was named for the former FCC chairman.

*** Hmmm..... John McCain pretty much said the same thing on February 15th, 2005! (Learn more about who agrees with Minow and McCain here).

"WASHINGTON (Hollywood Reporter) - Lawmakers' pique over the networks' incredible shrinking news hole is prompting legislation that will both shorten the time broadcasters have between license renewals and require full commission review of 5% of all licenses.

The legislation was introduced by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on Tuesday after the release of a report by the Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California found evening TV newscasts contained little coverage of local political campaigns last year.

It also would require broadcasters to post on their Internet sites information detailing their commitment to local public-affairs programing, and it calls for the Federal Communications Commission to complete its open proceeding on whether public-interest obligations should apply to broadcasters in the digital era.
...
While 55% of the broadcasts contained a presidential story, just 8% of broadcasts contained a story about a local candidate race for U.S. House, state house seats, city council seats and other local and regional offices. Eight times more coverage went to stories about accidental injuries, the Lear Center said.

"If a local candidate wants to be on TV and can't afford advertising, his only hope is to have a freak accident," McCain said.

...
"The Lear Center review is disappointing on so many levels that it would be a disservice to the academic community to label this legitimate research," the National Association of Broadcasters said.

Right. No "censorship" of bloggers, of "private citizen opinions." Uh-huh.

Well, the Minnow did crash into an island leaving its comical characters stranded for long-running years. I take note of that. And then there's the Norman Lear Co. What's Meathead up to, lately, besides ripping off the California taxpayer for bogus, socialist-based programs?

P.S.S. There's a vast left wing conspiracy concerning the exact spelling of Mr. Minnow/Minow's last name. Take yer best pick.