I'm kind of jumping to the end here after skipping, but it doesn't look like anyone really touched some of the better points.
Under Bill Clinton's Administration, the E/I restrictions probably helped to grow quality programming on basic-cable.
Keep in mind, this whole exchange occurred in three stages (probably soon to be four stages).
Bush 41's Administration: Under Bush 41's administration, they implemented the first set of guidelines that actually ended up being *REALLY* good for SatAM blocks but it was largely because the guidelines didn't accomplish what the original intent was. The funding set aside for tax credits actually helped to grow SatAM, but ultimately didn't quiet eliminate the focused advertising that the Bush Administration hoped it would.
Clinton's Administration: Under Clinton's administration, the rules with the E/I and the FCC administration there of probably helped to further grow the SatAM blocks. Primarily their definition of "Child Safe Programming" was pretty loose and allowed a lot of qualification for Tax credits.
Bush 43's Administration: Under Bush 43, the guidelines under Clinton's administration gave enough power to the FCC to allow the Bush administration to roll back many of the tax credits that existed during the Clinton Administration. Basically Bush 43 completed what Bush 41 intended by creating a condition where only shows principly composed of competosed Barney were allowed during kid friendly hours.
Obama Administration: It sounds like from most of what I read out of
Julius Genachowski, Obama's executive for the FCC, it sounds like he supports a wide range of shows during child friendly hours and fully intends to help encourage it.
Ultimately there's a lot of politics that are in play here. Yes, Economy has a bearing, but the amount of Tax Credits and Restrictions imposed by the government are having the net effect forcing companies to ask how profitable it is to run child friendly programming.
Julius Genachowski has been doing a lot of things I applaud. He's been pushing a lot of policies on companies that they really don't like and have frankly been using to exploit their customers for lots of money for far too long. Some of the biggest offenders being Comcast, Verizon and AT&T.
Here's some things I've read that he has his hands in:
- Children Friendly Programming (Non-Cable)
- Children Friendly Programming (Cable)
- Net Neutrality
- Preventing those nasty 1-2 year contracts for Internet / Cell Phone providers.
- Preventing TV Companies from charging outrageous fees to only get a handful of channels we actually want.
- Prevent Cell Carriers from locking cell phones.
Thats only a few things he's made his stances clear on. What has he ACTUALLY done so far? Not a bunch as he's attempting to prevent massive economical repercusions right now for his stances as well as cutting through
A LOT of
RED TAPE.