John Proffitt, Actually, I do not accept traditional definitions of “government-controlled.” Any entities that are controlled by political appointees and rely on taxpayer funding, and therefore must respond to pressure from politicians, in my view are government-controlled rather than fully market-driven. To a large extent, I would say that even the TV networks are government-controlled as their need to get their broadcast licenses renewed has clearly led them to watered-down coverage of government as compared to what Jefferson would have liked. Compare the political discussion of regulated broadcast vs. relatively unregulated cable and there is a clear difference. And obviously, radio was government-controlled during the era of the Fairness Doctrine. Its lapse led to much freer speech and the explosion of talk radio.
