The Honorable Anna G. Eshoo
205 Cannon Building
United Sates House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
January 9, 2010
Dear Representative Eshoo:
I commend your leadership on the issue of noisy TV commercials. The practice of media companies to hit viewers over the head with loud commercials is part and parcel with their practice of locating TV and other audio-video media in places where people can’t escape it: elevators, trains, taxicabs, gas station pumps, street corners, bus stops, even restrooms.
The spirit of the practice, known as captive-audience media, is to take away people’s control of the media they consume and how they consume it. By forcing people to turn down the volume or hit the mute button at commercial breaks, or else just put up with the intrusion, the media companies are exploiting technology to force-feed content to people, leaving them with only a negative choice: either block it or try to tune it out.
The Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act, H.R. 1084, is a fair approach to an unfair practice by media companies. What’s more, it shows that there are federal solutions to the growing problem of noise in our media-saturated environment, of which loud TV commercials is a part
Your leadership on this issue has shown that our representatives in Congress can come together to curb the abusive use of media technology. I hope you’ll continue to lead as the practice of captive-audience media spreads throughout our environment. Media companies have made it clear that captive-audience media is how they expect to grow their business in the years ahead. Their publicly stated goal is to continue the introduction of TV and other audio-video media in places outside the home where people can’t escape it: subways, trains, buses, bus stops, elevators, street corners, and gas station pumps, among others.
The CALM Act sends a message that people recognize, and are prepared to question, captive-audience media.
Sincerely,
[signed]
Media by Choice
