How the Public, the Commonwealth, Gets Screwed Again
An excellent article by J. H. Snider at Nieman Watchdog about the electromagnetic spectrum, the press not doing its job, and the public losing out again. (Read the entire article.)
I can see the eyes glazing over after reading the words: electromagnetic spectrum.
No, it's not about a subject incomprehensible to non-scientists but about following the money.
As Snider points out,
"In writing about spectrum, journalists should cut through the technical jargon and focus on 'who gets what?'
"They are seeking all these new rights from the FCC without paying a dime to the public for them. Each issue is framed, in obscure proceedings, without reference to the costs they might impose on the public.
"Spectrum politics has become a paradigmatic case of modern special-interest politics. A relatively small number of players have been able to freely acquire public assets worth tens of billions of dollars because they can do so under the public radar."
It comes down to cui bono or to whose benefit or, in this story that the press seems to shy away from: "Who's getting screwed? The public, big time; and "Who's doing the screwing?": Special interests like television broadcasting companies aided by elected representatives on Capitol Hill selling themselves for dollars and/or power.
I can see the eyes glazing over after reading the words: electromagnetic spectrum.
No, it's not about a subject incomprehensible to non-scientists but about following the money.
As Snider points out,
"The most valuable natural resource of the information age is arguably the electromagnetic spectrum, which is used for the wireless transmission of information. In February 2008, an FCC auction of 50 MHz of spectrum raised $19 billion, the largest single auction of public property in U.S. history. Given that there is approximately 3,000 MHz of prime spectrum (plus another 297,000 MHz of non-prime spectrum), that implies a total spectrum valuation upwards of $1 trillion.
"The vast majority of the publicly-owned spectrum either has not been auctioned or has been auctioned off incompetently. Instead, it has been granted to private interests with no public compensation. Why has this story gotten so little press attention?
"One reason is that the press is confused and scared by the complexity of the issue."In writing about spectrum, journalists should cut through the technical jargon and focus on 'who gets what?'
"They are seeking all these new rights from the FCC without paying a dime to the public for them. Each issue is framed, in obscure proceedings, without reference to the costs they might impose on the public.
"Spectrum politics has become a paradigmatic case of modern special-interest politics. A relatively small number of players have been able to freely acquire public assets worth tens of billions of dollars because they can do so under the public radar."
It comes down to cui bono or to whose benefit or, in this story that the press seems to shy away from: "Who's getting screwed? The public, big time; and "Who's doing the screwing?": Special interests like television broadcasting companies aided by elected representatives on Capitol Hill selling themselves for dollars and/or power.
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