Friday, April 13, 1934
Page 4
Daily Nebraskan
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Media Mlben' MiMtedl
The Federal Communications Com
mission currently is reviewing the rule
that requires broadcasters to give
equal time to persons with opposing
viewpoints on controversial issues.
The rule, known as the Fairness
Doctrine, was established 30 years ago
by an FCC that was frightened by the
growing influence of television. A broad
caster's record of providing balanced
coverage and making air time availa
ble to those with dissenting views is
studied by the FCC before it renews a
station's license.
But the industry has changed and
the rule seems outdated. The Fairness
Doctrine was established at at time
when television stations were scarce
and the major networks had no real
competition. Now, cable has begun to
take over the market and has created
several independent, nationwide stat
ions. The point is that the increased num
ber of media outlets seems to be pro
viding a diversity of opinions. That's
why the rule was established.
Members of the media - both print
and broadcasting understand the
necessity of allowing opposing view
points to be heard. A quick glance at
the letters column in any newspaper
offers sufficient proof of that.
With the fierce competition that cur
rently exists in the television and radio
industries, broadcasters, too, are going
to be sensitive to the needs of their
audiences. If a station is perceived as
biased, it is going to lose part of its
audience and that means advertising
revenues will drop.
A lifting of the Fairness Doctrine is
in order. Government should have lit
tle control over the media The country
was founded, in part, on the basis of
free speech and press. That was later
guaranteed in the First Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution. Had television
been around at the time, it likely would
have been included in that amend
ment The FCC can take a step in the right
direction by suspending the regula
tion. Broadcasters, like members of
the print media, are capable of regulat
ing themselves.
Unsigned editorials represent offi
cial policy of the spring 1984 Daily
Nebraskan. They are written by this
semester's editor in chief, Larry Sparks.
Other staff members will write edi
torials throughout the semester. They
will carry the author's name after the
final sentence.
Editorials do not necessarily reflect
the views of the university, its em
ployees, the students or the NU Board
of Regents.
The Daily Nebr askan's publishers are
the regents, who established the UNL
Publications Board to supervise the
daily production of the newspaper.
Missing Americans
On Jan. 27, 1073, the Peace Accords,
which officially ended the U.S. military
involvement in Vietnam, were signed
in Paris.
Yet today, 11 years later, this coun
try still has a national interest in South
east Asia. This interest lies in the form
of nearly 2,500 Americans still remain
ing in Southeast Asia. Most of the 2,500
are U.S. servicemen. Some are missing
in action, others are prisoner? of war.
Whatever their status, the fact remains
that those Americans are being used
as bargaining tools for a communist
government.
The number of the men is not impor
tant. Why should even one American
have to be held captive for years,
unable to see or even communicate
with his loved ones? What are impor
tant are the qualities of these men,
those special qualities that are found
in fathers, sons, brothers and husbands.
Why should even one loved one of
these men have to live a life full of
trails, tribulations and uncertainties?
Take a moment to think about the
situation. Imagine being held captive
for 11 years, added to those years
spent in captivity while the war raged
on. How would you deal with the pros
pect of never again seeing your family?
Or imagine, if you can, both the physi
cal and mental tortures inflicted upon
you during your years of captivity.
Would you have given up hope of ever
being released or rescued?
Let us today quit questioning the
morality of the Vietnam war. That is
not the issue here. We must now turn
our concern to the plight of the miss
ing Americans and to their families. It
is time our pleas for a full accounting
of our men are heard.
Penny Lasley
sophomore
elementary education
'Boring 9 style wins
That's the way, Daily Nebraskan.
You're again showing your ignorance
about basketball and college athletics
in general (Editorial, Daily Nebras
kan, April 6).
I'm not surprised that the Huskers
don't perform well at home with zeros
like the editor in the crowd. First of all,
like thousands of other jerks on this
campus, he criticizes the style of Moe
Iba's offense. What he fails to see is
that this "boring" style has gained the
Huskers 40 wins the last two years,
and has made Iba the most successful
coach weVe had here at Nebraska in
ages.
Secondly, Iba is smart enough to see
that a running style of basketball would
not fit the personality he has. In the
future the Huskers may run more, but
at the present, the Huskers are suited
to a half-court game centered around
the strengths of the team, especially
Dave Hoppen's inside shooting.
People think a basketball dynasty is
built in two years. They are, of course,
wrong. It takes several years to build a
power, and Moe Iba is on the verge of it
right now. Luckily, the athletic depart
ment is smarter than the average wri
ter for the Daily Nebraskan and will
continue to have Moe Iba a3 the coach
of our basketball program. I just want
to let Iba know, along with his players,
that there are people on this campus
who are intelligent enough to appre
ciate well-coached and well-played
basketball.
Monte Jones
Junior
Biology
Budget bill retraced
In response to John Hilgert's letter
praising the Republicans in the Legis
lature for restoring $2.4 million to the
university budget, I suggest Hilgert
investigate the legislative history of
LB1128, this year's budget bill.
On March 12, Gov. Bob Kerrey sent a
message to the Legislature urging the
body to support the Appropriations
Committee's recommendation of $814
million. Kerrey also advocated a 5 per
cent reserve and 19 percent income
tax and 3V4 percent sale tax rates. In
this message, the governor warned
that he would line item veto the budget
back to under $800 million and would
accept full responsibility for the action.
This was done on March 27. The rea
son for this was to leave $18 million for
individual appropriations bills and
other spending measures, in order to
remain within current revenue projec
tions. This is fiscal responsibility. I
would like to remind Hilgert that it was
the Republican-dominated Legislature
that voted to override line item reduc
tions 14 times on LB1123 alone.
Regarding the governor's commit
ment to education, once again, Hilgert
neglected to do his homework. It was
Gov. Kerrey who introduced LB994,
the education enhancement bill. This
bill raises standards for education in
the state's public schools, and would
have provided for teacher stipends in
order to bring Nebraska's teacher sal
aries into the top 10 percent in the
nation.
Monika Gross
National Committeewoman
Nebraska Young Democrats
letters continued on Psse 5
Itory reported the past, not the present
Your story on the Sue Tidball Award for Creative
Humanity (Daily Nebraskan, April 10), though well
intentioned, was backward, badly placed, and sorely
incomplete. In the seventh (next-to-last) paragraph,
you announce that Marie Arnot, associate professor
of community and regional planning in UNL's Col
lege of Architecture, is the 1 984 recipient of this
significant award. In the final paragraph, you list,
with very limited identification, the other six nomi
nees who were also honored at the Sue Tidball
Award Celebration Sunday. Incidentally, Gov. Bob
Kerrey was the keynote speaker for the event you
missed that altogether.
JGuest
pinion
The criteria for evaluating candidates for the Sue
Tidball Award for Creative Humanity are as follows:
Involvement in efforts to improve the learning
working environment, the education process, and or
the quality of campus and community life;
Contributions that promote community by
bridging gaps between diverse groups of people on
campus andor by forging links between the cam
pus and the larger community,
Evidence of caring attitudes, activit ies and rela
tionships likely to have a lasting impact on individ
ual lives.
At the award celebration, numerous examples
were cited of how Marie Arnot has fulfilled these
demanding criteria during her 10 years in the UNL
community: her creative teaching and sensitivity to
the needs of non-traditional, minority and foreign
students; her personal and professional commit
ment to equity which has produced tangible results
in the lives of individuals and of communities; her
leadership in countless projects linking the univer
sity and the community such as the Nebraska
Community Improvement Program, a program on
community choices sponsored by the Nebraska
Committee for the Humanities and presented at 30
locations in the state and development of a program
and management plan for the Malone Community
Center.
In addition, Arnot has volunteered her time and
expertise to the Comprehensive Emergency Ser
vices Committee, the Region II Crime Commission,
the Lancaster Office of Mental Retardation, United
Way and the City-County jail And her students,
former students and professional associates praise
her as one who has been a mentor and a friend to
people of all ages and backgrounds.
Briefer summaries were given at the awards cele
bration of the contributions of the other six nomi
nees for the award current UNL faculty, staff
members and a student whose peers felt they were
deserving of this unusual recognition.
Here is news - "good news" that the press finds so
hard to come by about people in the university
community. Yet your reporter led off with and
devoted most of his story to the life of a woman who
died eight years ago and has been amply memorial
ized in the press. Sue Tidball was a close friend of
mine. She was a wonderful person, well worth
remembering time and again. But the award that
Dears her name was created to recognize others
wno, here and now, are making contributions to the
development of a humane, open, educationally
creative just and caring community on the UNL
campus.
JS5it0!?r should have Reused on Marie Arnot,
hil it ly?T erg 1934 cipient cf the Sue Tid
,hoH h?d Kr Crueative Humanity. Its placement
nfnpinuT ble the front P-o?. Formal recognition
Suzanne Brown
Former Chair
Sue Tidball Award Committee