Digital TV's changing channels

[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission has a number of loose ends to tie up concerning the switch to digital television, including the question of how broadcasters fulfill their public-interest obligations in the digital era. TV and radio stations receive free access to the airwaves, but to keep their licenses they're obliged to serve the public "convenience, interest or necessity." In the Supreme Court's view, that means providing "adequate coverage to public issues." But it's not clear what that means when broadcasters are supplemented by effectively unlimited outlets online for news, information and opinion. The FCC needs to finish its long-delayed rule-making on the subject, bearing in mind that five political appointees in Washington are poorly equipped to dictate how local viewers' interests are best served. A better approach would be to make sure broadcasters listen to their viewers and share their publicly subsidized megaphone with their communities in the creative and competitive ways that broadcasters are in the best position to develop.