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Opinion
Friday, September 10,1993
The Battalion
Page 9
N
ting
A A investiga'
iring a speed
cuts at Okla!
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at some ofthf
— i.e. A&M.'
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tep it up a
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It is a big
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. A&M has
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nes.
the Aggies
the state of
35-34.
a career 24-
nents.
PRO
CON
Was KBTX justified in asking
TCA to pay rebroadcast fees ?
I magine for a
moment that
you run a small
company which
hands out a free
newsletter every
day. Your expenses
are paid by adver
tisers.
This newsletter
isso well written
and has such a
large readership
that people come
from miles around
a copy.
Soon, a larger com
pany begins to take
your newsletter and make copies of it
every day.
This company also takes many other
newsletters from around town and makes
copies of them. However, the company
doesn't hand them out for free; they
charge people a small fee to deliver it to
their house. You begin to realize that this
would be an excellent -way to make some
additional money. Unfortunately, the
He throw pemment prohibits you from taking
ets rolling h an n ,ro ^ t: fr orn the sale of your product.
° This is not a hypothetical scenario.
KBTX-TV in Bryan/College Station as
as many other TV stations in Ameri-
cahave been faced with this problem for
many years, and Congress has finally act-
|||1 %
ELIOT
MELISSA
WILLIAMS
MEGLIOLA
Columnist
Columnist
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ball,
id I think wf
offset the re-
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Aaron Glenn
week. V\
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attempted to
me thing this
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echnique and
or us," Davie
game in the
’ years.
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it ion
Until the passage of the Cable Act of
12, a television station like KBTX was
mandated by the FCC to broadcast its sig
nal for free to all who wanted to receive
it.
This, on face value, seems like a great
lea. After all, radio and TV waves are
public property, and if KBTX wants to
badcast on those waves, we should be
Me to receive the signal for free.
Like many governmental policies,
however, this one suffered from abuse.
Regional cable carriers like TCA — who,
incidentally, have a government guaran
teed monopoly in their area — began to
tike signals from KBTX and other local
broadcasters and re-broadcast them into
people's homes over their cable lines —
tharging us all a small fee of course.
Local broadcasters had no way of get
ting any of the profits from this rebroad-
tast, because, according to our legal sys-
, their product was public domain.
TCA has been getting away with this
hind of extortion for some time. They
Miy should these cable
companies be able to
charge the public for their
transmissions if airwave
transmitters like KBTX can
get none of these profits?
have been taking a signal from KBTX and
grossly overcharging for it.
The logic the government used when
establishing the rule of free transmission
isoutdated. When the law was made,
bansmission frequencies were limited
and therefore subject to governmental
Provisions.
Now, cable has made the transmission
spectrum almost limitless. With optical
fibers and new data compression, engi
neers expect to be able to transmit well
°ver500 channels into the typical Ameri
can home easily within the next few
years.
Why should these cable companies be
able to charge the public for their trans-
ntissions if airwave transmitters like
KBTX can get none of these profits?
It's easy to guess how TCA would re
spond if the government told them that
uteir transmissions were public domain. I
am disappointed that KBTX has decided
not to seek the cash compensation they
sightly deserve.
Eliot Williams is a sophomore electrical engi
neering major
I f the dispute be
tween KBTX
and TCA Cable
had not been re
solved, as of Oct. 6,
the "Pride of the
Brazos" would no
longer have been
seen around
Bryan/College Sta
tion.
Fortunately, as
of Wednesday, the
two sides came to
an agreement: TCA
will provide KBTX
with a "non-cash"
compensation. A
confidentiality clause prevents specific
disclosure of the terms. Had the two
sides not reached an agreement, it would
have been the result of the TV station's
own greed.
The 30 cents a month per subscriber —
or roughly $100,000 a year — that KBTX
was demanding from TCA Cable to re
produce what is free to those without ca
ble was a ridiculous request. And a stupid
business move as well.
Network stations who make their mon
ey from high-priced advertisements gen
erally cater to such patrons. One could ar
gue that it is really the sponsors who de
cide what we watch on television. If I
owned a company capable of advertising
on KBTX, I certainly would not be inter-
TCA is prohibited by con
tract from airing any CBS
station but KBTX. And
KBTX called TCA a monop
oly. What's that saying
about the pot and the kettle?
ested in advertising with a network that
put my primary interest — reaching the
largest possible audience — at risk for a
quick and undeserved buck.
Even though the dispute was settled
with no loss to the sponsors, I suggest that
they reconsider advertising with such an
unprofessional network.
Throughout the controversy, KBTX
spent countless dollars advertising over
the radio about how TCA was not looking
out for its subscribers' interests by threat
ening to drop the CBS station. The an
nouncer sounded like he was delivering a
public service announcement as he told a
biased side of the story.
During the evening news, the news
casters dropped subtle and not so subtle
hints about what should be done. The
trailers that were added to the bottom of
the screen for days were a helpful addi
tion to a wealth of propaganda.
Viewers might easily have been per
suaded to name TCA as the bad guy
when they considered the possibility of
not being able to see Letterman on his
new channel or of missing a precious mo
ment with last year's Superbowl champi
ons. What the network failed to admit,
however, is that anyone with cable could
still get KBTX by simply reaching behind
his or her set and disconnecting the cable.
An inconvenience, but not a crisis.
Another CBS affiliate could have solved
the problem by airing the programming
we're convinced we couldn't do without.
But TCA is prohibited by contract from
airing any CBS station but KBTX. And
KBTX called TCA a monopoly. What's
that saying about the pot and the kettle?
The Cable Act of 1992 does indeed re
quire cable companies to seek written per
mission from network stations to retrans
mit their signals, and I suppose the laws
of free trade suggest that it was okay for
KBTX to try to sell its broadcasts. At the
same time, TCA had the right to decline
the generous offer from across the street
— and not be harassed for doing so.
Melissa Megliola is a senior industrial engi
neering major
Television shows I'd like to write
The down and out taking of Beverly Hills 911 cops
MACK
HARRISON
Opinion editor
W ith all the
contro
versy
over television, we
seem to forget that
some shows are
just stupid. "Full
House." "My Two
Dads." "Barney."
But the honor has
to go to "Beverly
Hills 90210," the
show that
spawned a dozen
equally awful
clones.
With a little
rewriting, howev
er, the show could actually be enjoyable:
Brenda puts the K-bar combat knife
back into the ankle sheath, displaying a
tattoo on her pale but perfectly shaped
leg as she reloads the twelve-gage pump-
action shotgun. Two buckshot-ridden
corpses — her parents — lie on the floor
of the posh Beverly Hills mansion.
"That's for bringing me here," she
pants. "I hate this shallow town with all
its shallow people like Kelly, Brandon,
Andrea — and me."
Brenda looks around secure in her
knowledge that no police officers will re
spond to the shots. Her neighbors the
Clampetts are passed out from the LSD
she dropped into Granny's still. Brenda
hops into a BMW convertible that costs
more than some families bring home in a
year and heads over to the high school.
As she pulls up to the school, she sees
the rest of the gang hanging out on a
bench. Hour come we're always up here, hut
we never spend any time in class? she asks
as she readies the Vietnam-era surplus
M-79 grenade launcher.
Flooring the gas pedal and swerving
to hit as many upscale, snobbish high
school students as possible, Brenda fires
an explosive projectile at the first teacher
she sees: Gil.
That's for all those suggestive looks, she
thinks as his arms and torso disappear in
an inferno of white phosphorous. You
pretended to care just because you wanted to
sleep with tlie students.
"My God, you killed him!" sobs An
drea. "And I just shot his fiance so I
could become a cheerleader and have
him to myself."
Brenda turns toward her and sneers.
"And you. You're 35 years old and you
look it. What the hell are you doing in
high school?!?" Andrea's answer is
drowned out by the roar of the shotgun.
At this point a street person bearing
an uncanny resemblance to Nick Nolte
shuffles away from the area mumbling,
"Call 911! Call 911!"
Even though they are terrified and
surrounded by carnage, the surviving
members of the group still manage to
look like they were posing for a maga
zine cover. Brenda points her modified
full-auto folding-stock AK-47 at Kelly —
or Donna, she's not really sure anymore.
Thousands of dollars worth of plastic
surgery and makeup dissolve into a
mask of horror as Brenda aims the as
sault rifle at the interchangeable blondes.
"Brenda, what... ?" Donna/Kelly asks
as the bullets tear into her gaunt rib cage.
"Seven point six-two millimeter,"
Brenda replies in a voice cold as ice.
"Full metal jacket."
A scream erupts from the other
blonde. Brenda pulls a Taurus nine mil
limeter pistol and pumps a slug into Kel
ly/Donna. The perfectly toned body
drops with a whimper.
"I never could tell you two apart," she
whispers.
David looks on in shock. "She's dead.
And I never even got to sleep with Kelly
— I mean Donna."
Brenda's gaze is as sharp as the blade
she hurls at David's throat. His high-
pitched scream echoes in harmony with
the approaching sirens. That’s probably
the best he's ever sounded, thinks Brenda
as she picks her next target.
Steve, who had been edging toward her,
halts as she faces him Before he can utter a
word, she fixes the anti-shaik spear gun. The
compressed CO? in the spear's tip inflates
Steve like the airbag in a Volvo until his organs
burst from his torso.
"Don't blow your cool," Brenda says
as she turns back to Dylan and Brandon.
She draws her samurai sword and steps
closer to the pair. She stares deep into Dy
lan's eyes as she lops off his head. "'Bufty
the Vampire Slayer' sucked. Sayonara,
sucker," she says as she finishes him off.
Scores of police cars pull into the
parking lot and cops pile out, taking aim
at the siblings. "Wnere the hell is Axel
Foley?" Detective Rosewood shouts at
his partner.
"He's with Riggs and Murtaugh,
chasing South African drug dealers in
L.A.," Sergeant Taggert replies.
"Oh, well — lets waste 'em!" shouts
a Los Angeles quarterback who looks a
lot like Ken Wahl as he leaps out of a
Rolls Royce.
Bullets tear through the pair. Brenda
drops Brandon and staggers to the street,
where she falls in front of an asphalt lay
er that went out of control when its oper
ator was hit by a stray bullet.
As the construction equipment bears
down on her, she gasps with her last
breath, "Brandon, 'Calendar Girl' was
idiotic, too. You know, I could never tell
you and Dylan apart, either."
Harrison is a senior agricultural journalism
major.
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Visitors to Aggieland
deserve our courtesy
In the Sept. 7 Mail Call, Crissy Strick
land described two young ladies who
refrained from uncovering during yells
at the first football game. These ladies
could very well have been our guests,
who were visiting from LSU.
They did not uncover or participate
in yells, and we could think of no rea
son for them to do so, other than to qui
et the persistent shouts of, "Uncover!"
This may be one of those gray areas
sometimes encountered in A&M tradi
tions; as a public service, would someone
please tell us what the protocol is for visi
tors at yell practice and during games?
We would have readily asked them to re
move their caps in the MSC and given
the reasons for doing so, but at the game
we had only "tradition" as justification.
We are generally among the first to
shout, "Uncover!" if we spot a forgetful
Ag, but we don't see the need in being
rude and abusive. "Take you ****ing
hat off !" — really, how classy is that?
Our guests were impressed with our
description of the 12th Man legend and
countless other traditions, and we even
had them sawing Varsity's horns off
during the Aggie War Hymn.
We would hate to think that their
positive impressions of our fans and
school were marred by behavior best left
at their home stadium. So if anyone had
the definitive word on visitors uncover
ing, male or female, please help us out.
In the meantime, be aware that visi
tors are among us and may not know
exactly what is going on. Show the re
spect and courtesy that everyone has
grown to expect from Aggieland.
Beat the hell outta O.U. and gig 'em!
Chris Straughn ‘95
Kurt Hemphill '94
Shirts show lack of
respect for President
Only a week into the semester and
some Aggies are already beginning the
indoctrination process that is Texas
A&M's second education. This letter
goes out to all of the self-proclaimed
Biblical scholars here in Aggieland.
Whether one has committed adultery or
lied to anyone, it is a sin and all sins are
equal in the eyes of God. Jesus Christ
himself said let that man who has com
mitted no sin cast the first stone.
I don't know if the three shirts at
tacking the President are from the Col
lege Republicans and/or the Young
Conservatives of Texas, but this lack of
respect for the President has gotten way
out of hand. If anyone reading this letter
has not committed a single sin in
his/her lifetime, wear the shirts with
pride. If not, leave the President alone.
Even the KKK claims to not use hate
to unify its members but the College Re
publicans insist upon it. Does that mean
the KKK is more mature than the Col
lege Republicans? Ponder that. Aggies.
Anand Patel
Class of ‘95
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