As one of those survivals from the “Golden Age of Television” I remember when TV was actually free. What a concept! I am certain that there are a few out there who remember those heady days. Sure, you had to sit through mind-numbing commercials, usually breaking into a show or a movie at a point of great dramatic tension or highly revealing dialog, but that was a small price to pay for the entertainment and information we received from the networks that dominated the mass media and the independents that carved out local niches.
Then Cable TV came along. I remember the sales pitch: For a small monthly fee, you can have commercial-free television! What’s more, because this was a service that you were paying for, there would be no more—or at least greatly reduced—FCC censorship. Imagine that! Of course, it didn’t take long for commercials to creep into the Cable TV world and soon, once broadcast was all but eliminated by Cable (and later, Satellite) TV...
By Charles M Cooper ยท June 09 2008
internet, broadband
