This paper argues that the proliferation of videocassette recorders in the United Kingdom, especially England, has altered the terms of all electronic--and possibly cinematic--viewing in that country, with the exception of areas where communal viewing is the dominant practice, where broadcast is the dominant distribution mode, and where cinema is…

In the comparative hearing, the mechanism traditionally used by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to choose the best applicant for a broadcast license or frequency allocation, the virtues of each candidate are compared using several criteria, such as integration of ownership and management, but weight has never been fixed to the…

Despite a wealth of broadcast properties in the United States and abroad, the Catholic Church has little formal policy towards ownership of such properties. Most of the Church's recent statements on communication treat the theme in a general way and balance a defense of human rights in regard to communication with encouragement of greater use of…

The press of telecommunication technologies and their progeny have undermined the natural monopoly basis for long distance telecommunications and customer premise products, forced open regulatory doors, toppled barriers to market entry, and led to the reshaping of regulatory philosophy as regulators have seen new, wider horizons for the industry.…

In the public eye, three major investigations by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) into the dominance of the broadcast networks have appeared as battles between opposing forces with lively conflicts as the FCC combats monopolistic power in the name of public interest. In spite of the past investigations and the resulting regulations,…

In 1928, the Federal Radio Commission (the precursor of the Federal Communications Commission--FCC) noted the need for special radio channels that could carry radio across the United States free from interference from other radio stations. Many of these "clear channels" still exist as protected entities. Perhaps no other FCC policy…

Aired by the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) during the 1960s, "CBS Reports" proved to be one of that network's most honored efforts at television news coverage. CBS chairman, William S. Paley, based his decision to air the show on the presence of a sponsor and in response to the prospect of an open-ended Federal Communications…

The photographs of Margaret Bourke-White and Lewis Wickes Hine are graphic accounts of the urban industrial United States during the Depression of the 1930s. Hine was a sociologist who initially used his camera to promote social reform and is best remembered for his photographs of immigrants at Ellis Island, New York, and of children laboring in…

Providing an extensive, factual account of the controversy regarding the sale of a television station in Bloomington, Indiana, this paper presents a description of the legal issues involved, discusses the correspondence between the author and the purchasers of the station, outlines the justification for filing a Petition to Deny the transfer, and…

Intended to aid librarians, this guide explores the methods librarians can and do use to influence government publishers, printers, distributors, and indexers of government information, as well as those who create and interpret the policies governing those programs. Case studies from Canada, England, and the United States are cited to illustrate…

A cultural history of the rise of black consumer magazine publishing is presented in this paper. It examines the interrelated elements in the development of shifts in the institutional support base of black magazines and shifts in the ethos or style of middle-class black life, as reflected in the magazines themselves. The paper takes as an example…

The majority of critics of religious broadcasting, the so-called "electronic church," are members of the "liberal" or ecumenical Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish groups. In a historical context, however, these critics, along with the major radio and television networks, are as responsible for the electronic church as are the…

In this address, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reviews commitments he made as he took office and presents some of his views on the broadcasting industry, government regulation, and the overall communications environment. He reiterates his opposition to program censorship and notes that the FCC has been successful in…

As part of an examination of whether newspaper chains help member papers with legal problems, this paper reviews a series of courtroom and court-record access cases involving the largest newspaper chain in the United States, the Gannett Company. The paper attempts to determine the extent to which Gannett has financially and legally helped its…

Several areas that are lacking in undergraduate nuclear engineering programs are discussed. Although most programs provide adequate theoretical knowledge in nuclear science, the nuclear engineer must have a working knowledge with the complete nuclear power plant, and be acquainted with the functions and responsibilities of the various segments of…