The effect of all this upon the activities of the tobacco companies on the airwaves was highly noticeable.
What makes the battle of the airwaves here all the more unusual is that while Detroiters and their counterparts in other heavily targeted markets like Philadelphia, St . Louis and Milwaukeeare being subjected to large daily doses of Gore and Bush advertisements, voters in other cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Houston, see virtually none.
It would also be a fair return to the public on the hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of airwaves we have given the broadcast industry for free.
They believe they have a fundamental right to enjoy the fruits of oligopoly: control of airwaves that are actually (or at least supposedly) owned by the public.
But the internet may not have the cachet of the airwaves: after all, it's perfectly legal.
Indeed, Google convinced the Federal Communications Commission, which will begin auctioning the 700MHz spectrum Jan . 24 to open up this portion of the airwaves to all hardware and software developers not just those that have exclusive agreements with the carriers.
We accept the fact that Michael Rapaport brings his angry brand of acting to the table because, as we understand, he is legally required to be on a series every two years or the Gods of the Airwaves will make all things television cease to be.
But this would probably mean lots of tiny, fragmented packets of airwaves changing hands.
Another group crusades to create more of a public highway model, opening huge swaths of "unlicensed" airwaves to any and all users.
But what was lost in the argument was the fate of the public airwaves, free to all — whether captured with rabbit ears or computers.
