A government has not only the right, but also the responsibility, to regulate what is broadcast over the public airwaves.

A government has not only the right, but also the responsibility, to regulate what is broadcast over the public airwaves.

10:00 to 10:30

In a time where public broadcasting is protected by the First Amendment for granting freedom of speech, the public can be readily informed of events occurring around them or be entertained by media. In a democratic nation where free speech is highly respected, there are times when Big Brother is always watching its citizens diligently to be cautious of outside harm to protect the interest of its citizens. These governmental restrictions can be enforced to prevent psychological harm, physical harm by exterior influences. However, there are times when the government has limited to no rights in regulating what is broadcasted on public airwaves.

Firstly, consider situations when the government has the right to regulate what is shown on public airwaves. The government’s sole responsibility in most nations is to protect the best interests of the nation and maintain national pride. In cases when the country is suffering it tends not to show excessive detail of the incident to prevent further harm. A perfect example of this, is in the United States, where recently a new Occupy movement has been established by individuals who want to see change in their society. It is specifically concerned with the widening disparity of wealth in society, unfair taxation of the working class and limitations of basic human services such as  healthcare. The Occupy movement, was not exclusively shown multiple times on television or other media outlets in part because, the government did not want people to worsen the situation by escalating the protests in other parts of the country. Another example, is the regulation of broadcasting in the US and illegal redistribution of media. In many news corporations and media outlets, there have been rules enforced to prevent acts of discrimination to ethnic or religious minorities. For instance, after the holocaust there are individuals that still follow Hitler’s ideology of Aryan white supremacy in organization such as the Ku Klux Klan. In an effort to prevent such acts of discrimination, the government has prohibited the expression of anti-Semitic or racial slurs in public or on the media.

On the other hand, there are times when the government has no right or responsibility to regulate what is broadcasted on public airwaves. For example, educational programs should not be restricted to viewers. A prime example of this are private documentaries that show the reality of the situation in a country, that are often shown on private networks such as Link Tv. For example, a controversial documentary by Michael Moore such as Sicko or Food Inc should not be regulated. In Sicko, Michael Moore tries to compare the failing US healthcare system with other nations that have well organized forms of healthcare. This could be detrimental to the US government but this is information that the government should be publishing for the people but are not. Also, in the private documentary Food Inc, the reality of the US food market and food chain are discussed. It discusses the affects of how certain lobbying groups such as Monsanto and BP are regulating the food market for their gain of profit at the expense of the consumer and the farmers that harvest crops and poultry. Also children’s educational programs should not be regulated by the government because it is educational. The educational program is not going to cause harm to the public so should be shown without interference.

In all, there are specific circumstances in which the government has the right to regulate and other times have no right to regulate what is broadcasted on public airwaves. When there are images or acts of violence or protest from citizens such as the Occupy movement, then the government has the right to regulate it to prevent further harm. On the other hand, documentaries and educational programs should not be regulated because in a democracy it is the citizens right to gain knowledge to function optimally in society.