Leaders of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) believed that strict control over mass media and the arts was essential for governing the country. "Socialist realism"--an aesthetic formula calling for the portrayal of Soviet society in a positive light to inspire its constant improvement along the lines of Marxist-Leninist ideology--was implemented under Joseph V. Stalin. The regime required the media, literature, and the arts to adhere to this formula. A vast bureaucracy, which included party and government censorship organs and official political, military, economic, and social unions and associations, together with self-censorship by writers and artists, ensured a thorough and systematic review of all information reaching the public. Under the leadership of general secretary of the CPSU Mikhail S. Gorbachev, however, Soviet mass media and the arts in the late 1980s were experiencing a loosening of the controls governing the dissemination of information. Nevertheless, the principle of party and government control over newspapers, journals, radio, television, and literature, which helped to ensure the regime's stability, remained firmly intact.
Soviet Union - Chapter 9. Mass Media and the Arts
I'm not going to add to this too much but to say, that if ABC plans to do this, then perhaps ABC should fall under the tax codes as a PAC rather than a for profit media outlet and be subject to all the FEC regulations and tax codes as they are applied to a PAC rather than a broadcasting company if they plan on using this as an Obama Infomercial. Then perhaps Obama and ABC would be subject paying for the use of taxpayer airtime to broadcast this.
Contributions by individuals to federal PACs are limited to $5,000 per election (with primary and general elections for presidential candidates treated as separate elections). Corporations and unions may not contribute directly to federal PACs, though they may pay for the administrative costs of a PAC affiliated with the specific corporation or union. Corporate-affiliated PACs may only solicit contributions from executives, shareholders, and their families, while union-affiliated PACs may only solicit contributions from members. "Independent" PACs not affiliated with a corporation or union may solicit contributions from the general public but must pay their operating costs from these regulated contributions.
Federal multi-candidate PACs are limited in the amount of money they can contribute to other organizations:
at most $5,000 per candidate per election. Elections such as primaries, general elections and special elections are counted separately.
at most $15,000 per political party per year.
at most $5,000 per PAC per year.
Under federal law, PACs are not limited in their ability to spend money independently of a candidate campaign. This may include expenditures on activities in support of (or against) a candidate, as long as they are not coordinated with the candidate.
Political action committee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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