The driving force in federal licensing has been the combined political interests of legislators desirous of obtaining valuable prerogatives over the assignment of frequencies; incumbent broadcasters, ever vigilant in restricting new entry into broadcasting; and "public interest" lobbyists, whose self-interests lay in politicizing the…

During the eight years of President Ronald Reagan's administration, deregulation of broadcasting was pursued at least as vigorously as other attempts of the "Reagan Revolution" to lessen the impact and influence of the federal government. The Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) "one-to-a-market" rule (which limits licenses…

Describes the Northwest Ordinance as a victory for both the North and the South as each section received concessions which strengthened its interests. Discusses the document's historical background and assesses the effect of the Ordinance on the practice of slavery. (GEA)

This analysis of First Amendment rights for the electronic media recounts the stories of the broadcasting/cable industry must-carry compromise of 1986 and the failed codification of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987. It is noted that these cases were peculiar because, in each instance, the most powerful media in the country willingly sought abridgment…

This paper opens with a brief discussion of what some have seen as an unusual threshold decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish a broadcast high definition television (HDTV) system. It then identifies the spectrum and standards tradeoffs which are posed by the establishment of a HDTV broadcast transmission standard,…

The rationale for broadcast regulation has undergone some changes over the years. At first, the rationale for such regulation was based on the concept that the airwaves are owned by the public and that the regulatory bodies act as agents for the public in controlling what is transmitted. In 1943, the United States Supreme Court built a rationale…

Though the government only regulates religious broadcasting directly by issuing licenses for stations owned by religious groups or operated for religious purposes, it indirectly affects a large number of religious programers who do not own stations. Also, the courts and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have seldom dealt with cases as…

Discusses and draws lessons from the failure of KIPC-FM, the radio station of the All Indian Pueblo Council (AIPC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which operated from January 1976 to September 1977. (GT)

To examine the success of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) 1982 decision not to select a standard transmission system for AM stereophonic broadcasting (instead leaving it to the marketplace), this paper documents and analyzes the first 7 years of the AM stereo marketplace. Following an explanatory introduction, the paper's first…

This review of the history of the coverage principle developed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) concludes that government regulation of mass media program content can be dangerous and that the coverage principle needs to be abolished. The first section of the report discusses the FCC's interpretation of the 1934 Communications Act…

Examining the other side of the textbook image of the role of the early 20th century press as "crusader," this book presents a policy history of government regulation of the print media's business practices in the early 20th century. The first part of the book documents the press's inner workings,including its excesses and abuses, as it…

Various genres of writing, such as corporate annual reports, do not evolve fully adapted to the purpose for which they were created. A historical review of use to professionals and students shows that annual reports have gradually developed from modest beginnings to become elaborate, slick, and purposeful documents, bending in time to economic…

Examines the circumstances of the 1979 "Progressive" case, in which the federal government quashed an article about hydrogen bomb production. Notes reportorial lapses that prevented a full and balanced account of the situation. (RL)

From 1969 to 1993 the definition of program length commercials has not been consistent. The FCC's first involvement with program length commercials was in 1969 when "Hot Wheels," a cartoon based on Mattel Corporation's Hot Wheels cars, was alleged to be nothing more than a 30 minute commercial. The FCC made no formal ruling but did…

This paper argues that the Children's Television Act of 1990 (CTA) required television broadcasters to air educational and informational children's programming, but Federal Communications Commission (FCC) policy did little to clarify the definition of "educational and informational." The paper first examines the historical…