Michael Powell Ends Run at FCC

Michael Powell got the job as FCC chairman four years ago because he was Colin Powell's son. That is not to say that he was unqualified, but rather his appointment emphasized the Bush administration's fixation on loyalty. Merging the fast pace of technological innovation with the need to regulate the airwaves was never going to be easy, and Mr. Powell did all right in that regard. His successor is going to have a harder time of things.

The communication industry is where the diverse strands of conservatism begin to unravel. Mr. Powell, in his farewell statement to those who worked in his agency, said, “During my tenure we worked . . . to stimulate innovative technology that puts more power into the hands of the American people, giving them greater choices that enrich their lives.” Clearly, Mr. Powell is the kind of conservatism who abhors the nanny-state.

At the same time, he is the chairman of an FCC that saw fit to fine Howard Stern for the language used on his radio program and that had to deal with Janet Jackson's “wardrobe malfunction” during the Super Bowl a year ago. Vulgarity and nudity offend a different strand of conservatism, the social conservatives who believe that the government does have the power and the right to regulate what is broadcast over the airwaves to ensure that the content is no indecent, immoral or otherwise offensive to their sensibilities.

These are the people whom Karl Rove energized during the late presidential campaign. These are the people who turned out to vote against gay marriage. These are the people who claim the born-again George W. Bush as one of their own.

Yet there is another variety of conservatism – what this journal has dubbed the”Wall Street Socialists,” those who believe that a free market requires subsidies from the government for the largest actors in the economy. In the case of broadcasting, they are those who want the government to allow unlimited concentration of corporate ownership and who object to any government public interest broadcasts. “Let the market decide,” is their motto – all the while broadcasting on the airwaves owned by US citizens and leased at bargain basement prices to the broadcasters.

If, indeed, the market is to decide, the social conservatives are going to raise heck. Partial nudity and authentically blue language from authentically vulgar characters may get a few more ratings points in the 18-35 demographic, but it doesn't qualify as morally uplifting. The religious right voters who backed Mr. Bush just two months ago are about to find out just how much they are valued when Mr. Powell's successor is named. Given the choice between making business happy and making church-going evangelicals happy, Mr. Bush will try to fudge things (he is a politician after all), but in the end, actions speak louder than words. Even the four-letter kind.



© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.

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