New Chief Must Bring FCC Up-to-Date

[Commentary] Does Julius Genachowski believe the Federal Communications Commission should play an activist role in dictating how broadcasters use the so-called "public" airwaves. Such a notion is hardly radical; just the opposite. The FCC has always existed as a watchdog organization to keep networks and local stations in line. And that's the problem. Ideally, Mr. Genachowski would declare the FCC is getting out of the business of regulating what broadcasters can and cannot air at certain hours. He would recognize the lunacy of trying to protect kids from so-called obscene content on a few channels when the rest of their media universe offers easy access to such content. Such a move would be brave, yet it probably also would be political suicide. Adalian proposes a new compromise: lift any content on broadcasters in exchange for a tax that would support public broadcasting.