Welcome to Volume 60 of the Federal Communications Law Journal, the
nation's premier journal in communications law and the official
journal of the Federal Communications Bar Association. Issue 1 continues
the Journal's tradition of presenting timely and important analysis
in communications law and policy.
It begins with a debate between Chairman Kevin J. Martin, Federal
Communications Commission ("FCC"), Adam G. Ciongoli, Time
Warner Inc., Robert W. Peters, Morality in Media, and Dr. Roger Pilon,
the Cato Institute. The panelists discuss, in the pithy words of
moderator Judge David B. Sentelle, "the expanding or contracting or
changing, or whatever they are, regulations on indecency from the
[FCC]." Two Articles complement this discussion. The first, by John
C. Quale. and Malcolm J. Tuesley, makes the case for a First Amendment
bar to FCC regulation of indecent content on direct broadcast satellite.
In the second, Genelle I. Belmas, Gail D. Love, and Brian C. Foy suggest
improvements to the indecency complaint process based on their research
into recent FCC consumer complaint denials.
The Issue is rounded out by two student Notes and a Book Review.
Cindy J. Cho argues that the FCC's current interpretation of
foreign ownership requirements allows foreign applicants to engage in
anticompetitive behavior to obtain broadcast licenses in lieu of
domestic applicants. James D. Shanahan explains how Section 230 of the
Communications Decency Act eliminates statutory protections of
discriminatory housing advertisements on the Internet; he recommends
that Congress add the Fair Housing Act to the list of exceptions to
statutory immunity. Lastly, Victoria F. Phillips reviews Philip M.
Napoli's Media Diversity and Localism: Meaning and Metrics.
On behalf of the Volume 60 Editorial Board, I would like to thank
all of our authors for their contributions and cooperation with us
during the editorial process. I would also like to invite you--our
readers--to explore the expanded content available on our Web site at
http://www.law.indiana.edu/fclj/. Consider submitting a Response in our
newly launched Online Forum, or just see what other industry
practitioners and scholars have had to say about our recent articles. As
before, the Journal can be contacted at Indiana University School of
Law--Bloomington, 211 South Indiana Avenue, Bloomington, Indiana 47405;
telephone (812) 855-5952; facsimile (812) 855-5871; or by email at
fclj@indiana.edu.
Matthew D. Lawless
Editor-in-Chief, Volume 60
COPYRIGHT 2007 Federal Communications Law
Journal Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
Copyright 2007 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights
reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.
NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.