Federal Communications Law Journal articles from May 1999

Federal Communications Law Journal archives from May 1999

Equality in the information age.
May 1, 1999... Anatole France once observed "the law, in its majestic equality, forbids all men to sleep under bridges... the rich as well as the poor" Such a stunted idea of equality neither served those who slept under bridges in the early twentieth...

Equity pooling and media ownership.
May 1, 1999... I. INTRODUCTION This Article examines methods to increase the diversity of ownership of media outlets. There are several reasons why public policy might be focused in this direction. First, the media has a public goods characteristic where...

The digital dilemma: ten challenges facing minority-owned new media ventures.
May 1, 1999... I. INTRODUCTION Every morning in Africa, a gazelle awakens knowing that it must outrun the fastest lion if it wants to stay alive. Every morning, a lion wakes up knowing it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will...

Private equity funding for minority media ownership.
May 1, 1999... I. INTRODUCTION The private equity market is a major source of capital in the United States. In 1998, organized private equity firms raised over $85.3 billion.(1) These firms are very interested in media investing. For example, one private...

Measuring the nexus: the relationship between minority ownership and broadcast diversity after Metro Broadcasting.
May 1, 1999... I. INTRODUCTION In Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. FCC,(1) the Supreme Court found that the federal government had a compelling interest in promoting the diversity of viewpoints via broadcasting. In addition, the Court found that ownership of...

Use of designated entity preferences in assigning wireless licenses.
May 1, 1999... I. INTRODUCTION The Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) was granted the power to auction licenses for use of the electromagnetic spectrum in the 1993 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act in which Congress added section...

The FCC's minority tax certificate program: a proposal for life after death.
May 1, 1999... I. INTRODUCTION There are two types of Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) regulation: "Jewish mother" and positive incentive. The all-too-familiar Jewish mother approach relies on raised eyebrows, guilt, and punishment,...

Investment in minority-owned media: a social investor's perspective.
May 1, 1999... I. INTRODUCTION The issue of capital access for minority media firms is a familiar problem. Minority representation is low in many media organizations, and minority representation among management and capital interests is virtually...

The value of the tax certificate.
May 1, 1999... I. INTRODUCTION In 1995, Congress repealed section 1071 of the Internal Revenue Code, which allowed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) to issue a certificate to sellers of communications-related property to defer the...

Self-regulation and the media.
May 1, 1999... I. INTRODUCTION Calls for self-regulation of electronic media have recently been heard in Washington, D.C. In December 1998, a Presidential Advisory Committee recommended that digital television broadcasters adopt a voluntary Code of...

Legal opinions in corporate transactions affected by FCC regulation: an economic approach.
May 1, 1999... I. INTRODUCTION In 1996, the Subcommittee on Legal Opinions (Subcommittee) of the Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) published a report on legal opinion practice in corporate transactions where a Federal Communications...

False alarm? (privacy protection of personal data in the U.S. and Europe)
May 1, 1999... Privacy law in the United States has been unsettled by a directive from the European Commission requiring every Member Nation of the European Union to enact comprehensive privacy legislation regulating databases with information about...

The copyright dilemma involving online service providers: problem solved ... for now.
May 1, 1999... I. INTRODUCTION Much has changed in the world of communications in the last several years. A quarter century ago, the suggestion of watching year-old motion pictures at home was almost laughable. The concept of a computer that could be...

Private property, economic efficiency, and spectrum policy in the wake of the C block auction.
May 1, 1999... But if some of the consequences of his action are outside of the sphere of the benefits he is entitled to reap and of the drawbacks that are put to his debit, he will not bother in his planning about all the effects of his action. He will...

Not in my backyard: the siting of wireless communications facilities.
May 1, 1999... It shall be the policy of the United States to encourage the provision of new technologies and services to the public.(1) I. INTRODUCTION Wireless service providers are not unlike their more traditional counterparts in their...