FCC (Federal Communications Commission)

Lively's in-depth study of communications law clarifies the basic principles that comprise the law and provides a thorough survey of "the press" as it was originally outlined in the Constitution and how its profile has changed due to the sophisticated nature of today's media. Lively reviews the concepts that formed the groundwork for the law, examines the history of the regulation of the communications industry, evaluates the guidelines that have developed regarding the content of accessible information, and discerns trends in ownership of information sources.

This thorough update to Benjamin Compaine's original 1979 benchmark and 1982 revisit of media ownership tackles the question of media ownership, providing a detailed examination of the current state of the media industry. Retaining the wealth of data of the earlier volumes, Compaine and his co-author Douglas Gomery chronicle the myriad changes in the media industry and the factors contributing to these changes. They also examine how the media industry is being reshaped by technological forces in all segments, as well as by social and cultural reactions to these forces. This third edition of Who Owns the Media? has been reorganized and expanded, reflecting the evolution of the media industry structure. Looking beyond conventional wisdom and expectations, Compaine and Gomery examine the characteristics of competition in the media marketplace, present alternative positions on the meanings of concentration, and ultimately urge readers to draw their own conclusions on an issue that is neither black nor white. Appropriate for media practitioners and sociologists, historians, and economists studying mass media, this volume can also be used for advanced courses in broadcasting, journalism, mass communication, telecommunications, and media education. As a new benchmark for the current state of media ownership, it is invaluable to anyone needing to understand who controls the media and thus the information and entertainment messages received by media consumers.

Media Diversity: Economics, Ownership, and the FCC provides a detailed analysis of the regulation of diversity and its impact on the structure and practices within the broadcast television industry. As deregulation is quickly changing the media landscape, this volume puts the changing structure of the industry into perspective through the use of an insider's point of view to examine how policy and programming get made. Author Mara Einstein blends her industry experience and academic expertise to examine diversity as a media policy, suggesting that it has been ineffective and is potentially outdated, as study after study has found diversity regulations to be wanting. In addition to reviewing diversity research on the impact of minority ownership, regulation of cable and DBS, duopolies, ownership of multiple networks, and cross ownership of media on program content, Einstein considers the financial interest and syndication rules as a case study, due to their profound effects on the structure of the television industry. She also poses questions from an economic perspective on why the FCC regulates structure rather than content. Through the presentation of her research results, she argues persuasively that the consolidation of the media industry does not affect the diversity of entertainment programming, a conclusion with broad ramifications for all media and for future research about media monopolies. This volume serves as a defining work in its examination of the intersection of regulation and economics with media content. It is appropriate as a supplemental text in courses on communication policy, broadcast economic and media management, broadcast programming, political economy of the mass media, and media criticism at the advanced and graduate level. It is also likely to interest broadcast professionals, media policymakers, communication lawyers, and academics. It is a must-read for all who are interested in the media monopoly debate.

The telephone used to be a luxury item. Today, 95% of Americans have telephone service, and many carry their phones wherever they go. McMaster chronicles the fascinating story of the telephone's rise, its spread to ubiquity in today's society, and the billion-dollar industry it has engendered. This accessible history is ideal for students seeking a clear, concise introduction to one of the landmark American industries of the 20th century.

When the U.S. Congress created the Federal Radio Commission in 1927, what we now call cyberspace was just "ether." Broadcasting had only begun to carry tinny human voices and music across the fields and prairies, while Sunday afternoon phone calls to Aunt Mabel snaked through wires below, courtesy of an army of operators who switched each circuit by hand. It didn't take long, though, for the wires and airwaves to fill up with untrammeled chatter, so much so that by 1934 after complaints by the Navy that ship to shore communications had become hopelessly chaotic, and under the unproved but widely held belief that the broadcast spectrum was a finite natural resource all federal authority over electronic communications was forged into a new, powerful Federal Communications Commission. The amount of information traversing the airwaves has increased a million fold since 1927, but has the FCC changed along with the technology? The answer, according to Peter W. Huber, in Law and Disorder in Cyberspace: Abolish the FCC and Let Common Law Rule the Telecosm, is an emphatic No. In this well researched, lively, even witty polemic, Huber recounts the history of telecommunications over the last century to argue that the FCC "should have been extinguished years ago." With scarcity of communications channels no longer an issue, and the virtual elimination of distinctions between carriage and broadcast,the Commission's anachronistic laws have no basis for existence, and have in fact impeded growth and progress to the tune of billions of lost dollars. Today, the "telecosm," that complex universe of invisible communications traffic, has expanded, supplanted, and subdivided itself many times over with each new technological breakthrough. Cable television, direct broadcast satellite, cell phones, the V chip, Caller ID, personal computers, and the Internet have transformed the world. Huber argues that large bureaucratic entities like the FCC fail to adjust to such rapidly changing technologies because they see their mission as maintaining the status quo, and that instead of preserving the rights of common citizens they actually favor rich monopolies. Addressing charged points of conflict such as free speech vs. censorship, privacy vs. right to know, and market vs. controlled pricing, Law and Disorder in Cyberspace energetically proposes that sensible national telecommunications policies evolve through common law--the accretion of decisions arrived at in specific cases where basic principles such as private property and fair business practice are challenged and upheld--and not through the top down, government imposition of inflexible regulatory mandates created in the vacuum of uninformed, theoretical disussion. Given the heated climate on Capitol Hill surrounding debate over ways to reduce federal spending, Peter Huber's arguments are timely, urgent, and meticulously documented. Law and Disorder in Cyberspace is not only informative and entertaining, but will be one of those rare books that will influences public policy before the end of this decade.

Since its initial publication in 1978, Stay Tuned has been recognized as the most comprehensive and useful single-volume history of American broadcasting and electronic media available. This third edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to bring the story of American broadcasting forward to the 21st century, affording readers not only the history of the most important and pervasive institution affecting our society, but also providing a contextual transition to the Internet and other modern media. The enthusiasm of authors Christopher H. Sterling and John Michael Kittross is apparent as they lead readers through the development of American electronic mass media, from the first electrical communication (telegraph and telephone); through radio and television; to the present convergence of media, business entities, programming, and delivery systems, including the Internet. Their presentation is engaging, as well as informative, promoting an interest in history and making the connections between the developments of yesterday and the industry of today. Features of this third edition include: *chronological and topical tables of contents; *new material reflecting modern research in the field; *a new chapter describing historical developments from 1988 through to the current day; *an expanded bibliography, including Web site and museum listings; *an updated and expanded glossary and chronology; and *extensive statistical data of the development of television and radio stations, networks, advertising, programming, audiences, and other aspects of broadcasting. Designed for use in undergraduate and graduate courses on the history of American mass media, broadcasting, and electronic media, Stay Tuned also fits well into mass communication survey courses as an introduction to electronic media topics. As a chronicle of American broadcasting, this volume is also engaging reading for anyone interested in old radio, early television, and the origins and development of American broadcasting.