Thursday, September 15, 2011

Law and Policy Case Study

Media Law and Policy is a topic most people don't realize is out there. With the media these days being at the top of the interests chain, someone there to watch over and reason through the good and bad is quite necessary. So, I ask myself, "Who controls/monitors the media?" Tuesday in class, we discussed many organizations that protected the media in several different aspects. One struck me instantly, the Federal Communications Commission. This organization regulates interstate and international communication circuits. Recently, the FCC has built a plan, a National Broadband Plan costing $350 billion. The plan would be to implement internet access nationwide, providing internet to over 100 million people. The National Broadband Plan has many different sections, one particularly, Public Safety. I chose to explain this aspect of the monstrous plan because it indeed shares a large part of monitoring the media. Public Safety in the National Broadband Plan has been created to enhance emergency communication lines, build a safer place to live, and improve issues with cybersafety. I have thoroughly enjoyed studying on the subject of law and policy of the media. Because of the FCC, I now understand and see it all on a large scale. Media is everywhere, all around us! Without it life as we know it would not be the same. Appreciate the FCC, the National Broadband Plan, and Public Safety because without them, who would control/monitor the media?


http://www.broadband.gov/issues/public-safety.html
http://urgentcomm.com/policy_and_law/commentary/national-broadband-insult-20100408/

1 comment:

Callie said...

The question of where did the FCC come from arose at the end of my case study and ironically my mind went blank. So, I plan to fully explain the history behind the FCC in my defense.
The Federal Communications Commission was created under FDR and the Communications Act of 1934. It gave the organization the job of monitoring interstate and international communications. The FCC allowed for a fast worldwide radio and wire communication line.
I was also asked if the FCC could really control what is put in the media. Of course it can. The FCC has great responsibility within the media and what is placed in society's eyes. How do they control it? This is where we see the National Broadband Plan come into play. With this national plan of internet for everyone, they can watch and decide what everyone is viewing.
A couple weeks ago we were asked, "who controls the media?" I responded with the Federal Communications Commission, because it in fact controls most of our media today. Much information was taken from the website, www.fcc.gov. It shares a ton of information about the FCC, what it does, and the National Broadband Plan. It also has links to other webpages on the plan.
I got a lot of information and understanding from the video on www.broadband.gov/plan.