Week 1: Student Response and Assignment

ThursdayFeb 22 at 3:30pm

Manage Discussion Entry

Hello Class,

I found the backgrounds of the commissioners intriguing. Federal Communications Commission Chairman (FCC) Ajit Pai being "an outspoken defender of First Amendment freedoms" was something that caught my eye in the beginning (Federal Communications Commission, 2010, para. 11). Therefore, Chairman Pai will not attempt to take away the freedoms that the press and public have been granted by the First Amendment.

Also, Commissioner Mignon Clyburn "co-owned and operated a family-founded newspaper for 14 years" (Federal Communications Commission, 2010, para. 3). Commissioner Clyburn knows how news from the inside. Being that she knows how news works from the inside, Commissioner Clyburn would not attempt to hurt the news organizations with the rules that are created.

Commissioner Brendan Carr, on the other hand, brings extensive knowledge of communication law to the committee. He brings "Over a dozen years of public and private sector experience in technology and communications law and policy" (Federal Communications Commission, 2010, para. 2). Commissioner Carr will know how to create policies that will help the technological community and will know take away rights that the people have been granted by the forefathers.

Lastly, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworzel has covered parts of new media. According to the Federal Communications Commission (2010), "In the past, she was responsible for legislation, hearings, and policy development involving a wide range of communication issues, including spectrum auctions, public safety, broadband deployment and adoption, universal service, video programming, satellite television, local radio, and digital television transition" (para. 4). Commissioner Rosenworzel knows new ways that the public gets the news. She also has the knowledge of the fastest ways for the world to get information from one place to the other, such as broadband.

After reading the different skills the commissioners possess, I feel that the commissioners will be able to change the ways that the media sends and receives information. Even though sending and receiving information is simpler than it was in the past, there are still places that the media, such as in countries that the media must use satellite computers, have a hard time sending and receiving information. Most of the commissioners also bring extensive knowledge of the law to the committee. Being that there is extensive knowledge of the law, the commissioners will not approve laws that may have a slight chance of being unconstitutional. In the end, traditional newspapers are becoming obsolete with the rise of new media. Being that there is someone with the knowledge of traditional news, there may be a chance that traditional news may not die as fast as some people think. I do not think the political affiliations of the commissioners have anything to do with their thoughts about communication.

References

Federal Communications Commission. (2010, November 15). Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Retrieved from http://www.fcc.gov/