Is it legal to have our local NOAA tv weather station broadcasting

[glinda]

conservative talk radio all the time over the maps? It is all very right wing conservative with bashing people all the time. Yesterday it was people who cared about "tree loss" on the planet.

[madrchsod]

1. do you have the freq number?

is this a web based site?

[glinda]

2. Don't know what you mean. It is on our television channel.

The talk radio is local that voices over it all the time.

[Permanut]

3. Jeez, the zombies never stop...

This is not happening in Oregon yet, at least along the coast.

[humblebum]

4. The Dems had the chance to introduce a new, up to date Fairness Doctrine.

They chose not to and this is the result.

[LastDemocratInSC]

5. The weather video feed is legal ... not sure about the right wing stuff

The National Weather Service has numerous forecast and warning products that are provided for the welfare of the public. Cable TV systems may broadcast those products if they wish.

The real issue is the rebroadcast of the right-wing rant over the weather video feed. If that program originates from a commercial broadcast station it could be a copyright violation ... it depends on the agreements between the originator and the cable system that is rebroadcasting it.

[glinda]

6. How do I find out?

[glinda]

7. I don't think it is a rebroadcast radio show.... I think it is live. But it says

it is the NOAA channel.

[joshcryer]

9. The NOAA provides live data that cable companies like to display on their local access channel.

If you call the cable company you can actually have your own show on there for a modest fee.

[joshcryer]

8. That's your local access channel, which your cable company will let you pay to be on.

Do they also show town council meetings or kids graduation shows and whatnot? Because that's what it sounds like this is.

[BiggJawn]

10. NOAA doesn't have any TV channels

They have several radio channels in the 162 Mhz range. what are you seeing, weather RADAR with hate-radio audio?

[stevedeshazer]

11. Cable TV or broadcast TV?

The answer depends on which. Broadcast TV is regulated by the FCC. Cable is not.

If it's cable, they can do whatever they want.

[glinda]

12. NOAA Rebroadcast - Saint Cloud, MN

We receive NOAA Weather Radar on a Charter Communications Cable Channel (20). The broadcast facility is WJON Radio 1240 out of Saint Cloud. Radar is the primary content with graphics (text boxes with weather info). I assume WJON receives a Satellite feed directly from an antenna or from Charter. Further, I am guessing, that WJON processes that signal and sends it out on one or all of their 5 zonal radio towers. In addition, WJON staff broadcasts their own weather information through their staff interpretations of their own weather inputs and the live radar gathered from radar locations in Duluth, MN, Sioux Falls, SD and Minneapolis, MN. Very helpful in stormy weather with their talk radio format as callers report on weather in their neighborhoods or out on the highway. Occasionally, they even go to the door and look outside.

_THIS ABOVE EXPLANATION PROVIDED BY HUBBIE.

The station is listed as "local talk, news, weather and NOAA on the bottom right of screen. Most of time it is right wing radio and can be quite nasty and condescending to anyone who is not right wing. Almost like Rush lite.

[joshcryer]

13. Ahh, apologies, thought it was cable. I assume WJON is licensing the frequency, if not...

...they can certainly be in trouble. Otherwise talk radio is the scum of our society and it's unsurprising. NOAA data, as all Government provided data, is public domain, so they're well within their rights to rebroadcast it (they might have to pay Charter a fee for using their stream but it sounds more like they're getting it directly from the NOAA satellite).

[stevedeshazer]

14. It's legal, then. Hate to say it.

When cable TV was deregulated in 1996, this became possible.

Bill Clinton signed off on it. He's since expressed regret.