Jesse Walker's Radio Show

Managing Editor Jesse Walker's weekly freeform radio show will be broadcast on WCBN-FM this afternoon from 12 to 3, eastern time. If you live in the Ann Arbor area, you can tune in at 88.3 FM; if you live elsewhere, you can listen online.

For more information about the show, go here. Playlists from previous programs are posted on Jesse's personal blog.

Comments

[Warty]

I can't believe I just suffered through a few minutes of a liberal talk radio interview. Congratulations, you twat, you interviewed a bunch of reg'l'r folk. Country's fixed!

[Jesse Walker]

Yeah, that's a really annoying show. (Though the interview before the one you heard, with Glen Greenwald, was pretty good.)

[John Thacker]

Speaking of radio and TV, the Supreme Court handed down a decision on a preliminary part of the FCC cases. Preliminary because they didn't address the larger First Amendment questions that would require overturning Red Lion v. FCC (1969) (FCC can refuse to renew radio station based on Fairness Doctrine/content) and FCC v. Pacifica. (FCC can regulate George Carlin and dirty words). Those are the two decisions that codify the "public licenses granted on scarce airwaves mean that the FCC can regulate broadcast (but not cable/satellite) TV and radio."

What they decided was that, given the precedents above, the FCC was free to decide between regulating only scripted broadcast shows and also regulating live award shows. The decision specifically noted that they weren't addressing the larger First Amendment question. Justice Thomas wrote a separate concurrence saying that he basically will overturn Red Lion and Pacifica on First Amendment grounds.

The decision was 5-4 so this seems to bode well, but some of the liberal pragmatists might switch sides on the fundamental issue as well. Some want the FCC to have broad powers to regulate some content, but not the power to regulate expletives in exactly this way. Once against the pragmatist/idealist split on the Court becomes an issue?