Doesn’t the public know what is in the public’s interest?
: Gawd, I cannot abide Michael J. Copps, the Democratic member of the FCC and the one most likely to tear down both the free marketplace of both ideas and commerce.
Today, he writes an op-ed in The Times that perfectly illustrates his nannyfied philosophy of government: He knows what we should know, he knows what we shouldn’t hear hear, he wants to take care of us … even if we don’t want anybody to take care of us.
Copps argues that the networks should be airing the political conventions because we, the people own the airwaves and lend them to the networks, airing the conventions is in the public interest.
Well, let’s examine those assumptions:
First, is it in the public interest to air the conventions? Well, I’d say that the public is in the best position to judge what is in its interest … and the public doesn’t watch conventions! So who the hell are you, Copps, to tell us what is in our interest?
Second, you assume that there is value in watching the conventions. But as we all know, no news happens there. They are merely overlong commercials that give absolutely no real sense of what the politicians and parties are all about. So what is the public good in airing them besides giving your politician buddies face time on TV?
This from the same guy who would fine Howard Stern off the air — telling his milions of listeners that they should be listening to him, just because Copps says so — and who would give government a role in deciding who cannot own broadcast outlets and thus who cannot have free speech.
Copps: Those are our airwaves, not yours.
