Through a Twitter spat, presidential candidate Donald Trump made a major communications policy proposal Sept. 23.
For air Sept. 25, 2015, but can run a few days later.
Running for the Republican nomination for president, so far Donald Trump has made very few policy proposals, and almost none having to do with communications policy. But on Sept. 23, Trump made a proposal that would change the Federal Communications Commission in a major way. His proposal was for the FCC to regulate speech on cable television. Currently, the FCC regulates speech over the airwaves, with vulgar language relegated to safe harbor between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., when children are asleep. But cable television does not use the public airwaves directly to get signals to the public. So the FCC did not tell Comedy Central to bleep Jon Stewart s profanity, they did that (sometimes) on their own, so advertisers would not be upset. Of course, Trump s proposal didn t come in a speech announcing a new idea, but in a veiled threat on Twitter. Trump is currently boycotting Fox News, and Sept. 23 National Review editor Rich Lowry appeared on the channel and, saying how candidate Carly Fiorina beat up on Trump at last week s Republican presidential debate said, Let s be honest: Carly cut his balls off with the precision of a surgeon " and he knows it, on The Kelly File. Trump fired back soon after on Twitter with, Incompetent @RichLowry lost it tonight on @FoxNews. He should not be allowed on TV and the FCC should fine him! So, perhaps it was not a policy proposal, but the off-the-cuff ramblings of someone who doesn t know what they are talking about. We report, you decide.
Donald Trump proposal to regulate cable TV for Sept. 25
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Sept. 25, 2015
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