Thursday Open Line


As radio broadcasting matured and television was being birthed, the Federal Communications Commission was established on this date 70 years ago to regulate use of the airwaves in the public interest. The agency’s job has grown much larger and more complex in the years since, and includes all non-federal government use of the frequency spectrum. Current issues include obscenity on the air and the blurring of distinctions between telephone companies and cable television. Among the outlets the FCC monitors are nearly 9,500 radio and television broadcasting establishments, over 700 cable television systems, and nearly 12,000 wireless telecommunications carriers, along with satellite and wired communication services. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at www.census.gov