Outside the Beltway

WHY WE CAN’T BE MORE LIKE BERLIN

James Joyner
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Thomas Hazlett is bemused by the fact that Berlin has abandoned analog television in favor of digital while the U.S. hasn’t. Let’s see: Berlin covers 341 square miles, has a population of about 3.5 million, and has a deep cultural tradition of doing what they’re damned well told. The United States is a vast continental power, has 285-odd million inhabitants, thousands of subgovernments, and a deep and abiding resistance to governmental interference. Other than that, the cases are identical.

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6 responses to “WHY WE CAN’T BE MORE LIKE BERLIN”

  1. Misanthropyst Avatar
    Misanthropyst

    280 million, but the “odd” is right.

  2. James Joyner Avatar
    James Joyner

    Yep–what I meant. Something like 283 mil last I heard.

  3. Emma Avatar
    Emma

    yep, ^.^

    I always get a kick out of those who use one european(or any other region)country and compare it against the U.S.

    Ummmm folks, your country is the same size as my state, now add 49 more countries from your region and “maybe” we can talk. I especially get a kick out of countries with only a few hundred thousand citizens ask why…

    I’m still waiting for the EU to actually agree on something…like digital tv.

  4. Sam Avatar
    Sam

    Heh, I think Washington DC should take the lead and do an immediate transition to digital TV 🙂

    Actually, I would like to see this, because then WRC, WTTG, WJLA, WUSA, WDCA, WBDC, WETA, WHUT, and WPXW might boost the power on their digital broadcasts and they might come in better here.

    Sam

  5. Chris Lawrence Avatar
    Chris Lawrence

    Well, if Thomas goes out and buys a HDTV receiver (or even a converter box), he’ll help make the digital conversion here; the FCC regs say that analog TV will be shut off in a given market once 85% of people receiving TV by antenna convert to digital.

  6. Richard Avatar
    Richard

    Uhm Emma???, the EU has agreed on something and it is taking place, if you are following the news then you’d know their preparing a European constitution, which leads to.. well you know a true European Union, which might be addressed as the United States of Europe, because by then countries there will be states.

    But if you’re not European then you most likely don’t care to much about that, history has proven that Americans never quite knew what happened outside their borders, even know they still don’t really know what’s cooking out there, well apart from the terrorists ofcourse.

    Just my 2cts

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