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From: wcs@cbnewsh.cb.att.com (Bill Stewart 908-949-0705 erebus.att.com!wcs)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: Cable Censorship
Keywords: MTV GONE!
Message-ID: <1991Jun27.161815.9151@cbnewsh.cb.att.com>
Date: 27 Jun 91 16:18:15 GMT
References: <2153@tamsun.TAMU.EDU> <1991Jun26.235525.2474@athena.cs.uga.edu>
Organization: Your typical phone company involved in your typical daydream
Lines: 31

In article <1991Jun26.235525.2474@athena.cs.uga.edu> mcovingt@athena.cs.uga.edu (Michael A. Covington) writes:
> So why is any cable company morally obligated to carry any programming 
> at all?
> It would only be "censorship" if some outside authority imposed a
> restriction on them.

There are two kinds of cable tv companies
- businesses engaged in free, honest competition
- businesses that get the government to grant them a monopoly,
	which forbids any other company from offering competing service.

If the first kind of business decides not to carry MTV, 
you can buy cable service from someone else, or start your own company.

If the second kind of business decides not to carry MTV,
NOBODY ELSE CAN SELL IT TO YOU EITHER, and the government will arrest
them for doing so.  That's censorship.

It's just like the government saying that only one newspaper can be
sold in your town, and they'll arrest anyone who sells any other newspaper -
that's censorship.

If this cable company is in an area without a government monopoly,
then it's not censorship, it's just bad service, and if you can get
MTV by satellite, buy a dish, and maybe split the cost with your neighbors
and run a cable over to their houses too.  You can't do that here in New Jersey.
-- 
				Pray for peace;		  Bill
# Bill Stewart 908-949-0705 erebus.att.com!wcs AT&T Bell Labs 4M-312 Holmdel NJ
# No, that's covered by the Drug Exception to the Fourth Amendment.
# You can read it here in the fine print.