Public Broadcasting and the Public Interest PDF
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Public Broadcasting and the Public Interest MEDIA, COMMUNICATION, AND CULTURE IN AMERICA Michael C. Keith and Donald A. Fishman, Series Editors WAVES OF RANCOR Tuning in the Radical Right Robert L. Hilliard and Michael C. Keith SCREENED OUT How the Media Control Us and What We Can Do About It Carla Brooks Johnston DISCONNECTED AMERICA The Consequences of Mass Media in a Narcissistic World Ed Shane QUEER AIRWAVES The Story of Gay and Lesbian Broadcasting Phylis Johnson and Michael C. Keith INVISIBLE STARS A Social History of Women in American Broadcasting Donna L. Halper PUBLIC BROADCASTING AND THE PUBLIC INTEREST Michael P. McCauley, Eric E. Peterson, B. Lee Artz, and DeeDee Halleck Public Broadcasting and the Public Interest Michael P. McCauley, Eric E. Peterson, B. Lee Artz, and DeeDee Halleck Editors I~ ~~o~;~~n~~~up LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 2003 by M.E. Sharpe Published 20 15 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Copyright © 2003 Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Notices No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use of operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein. Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility. Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Public broadcasting and the public interest I edited by Michael P. McCauley ... [et al.]. p. cm.-(Media, communication, and culture in America) Conference papers. Includes bibliographical reference and index. ISBN 978-0-7656-0990-8 (alk. paper)-ISBN 978-0-7656-0991-5 (pbk.: alk. paper) 1. Public Broadcasting-United States. 2. Broadcasting policy-United States. 3. Public interest-United States. 4. Political participation-United States. 5. Democracy-United States. I. McCauley, Michael P., 1958- II. Series. HE8700.8 .P824 2003 384.54'0973-dc21 2002070712 ISBN 13: 9780765609915 (pbk) ISBN 13: 9780765609908 (hbk) Contents List of Tables and Figures vii Series Foreword by Michael Keith ix Foreword by Dan Schiller xi Acknowledgments xiii Introduction XV Part I. Defining the Public Media Terrain 1. Introduction B. LeeArtz 3 2. Public Broadcasting: Past, Present, and Future Robert W. McChesney 10 3. Brand New World? Globalization, Cyberspace, and the Politics of Convergence Vincent Mosco 25 4. The PBS Brand and the Merchandising of Public Service William Haynes 41 5. The FCC and the Public Interest: A Selective Critique of U.S. Telecommunications Policy-Making Robert K. Avery and Alan G. Stavitsky 52 6. Pacifica Radio's Crisis of Containment Matthew Lasar 62 Part II. Critical Dimensions 7. Introduction Eric E. Peterson 71 8. The Public and Its Problems: Race, Class, and Media Access B. Lee Artz 77 9. Advertising on Public Television: A Look at PBS Judi Puritz Cook 85 10. Should One Size Fit All Audiences? A Study of KUOP Mary E. Hurley 95 11. DBS and the Public Interest Opportunity in Satellite Television Steve Pierce 110 12. Making Money and Serving the Public Interest: Public Broadcasting Can and Should Do Both Gary P. Poon 127 Part III. Global Perspectives 13. Introduction Michael P. McCauley 141 14. The CBC and the Public Interest: Maintaining the Mission in an Era of Media Concentration Ira Basen 147 15. Public Broadcasting, the Information Society, and the Internet: A Paradigm Shift? Amit M. Schejter 158 16. Between Globalization and Democratization: Governmental Public Broadcasting in Africa Lyombe S. Eko 175 17. Canadians Connected and Unplugged: Public Access to the Internet and the Digital Divide Vanda Rideout 192 Part IV. Where Do We Go from Here: Civic Space, Cyber Market, Public Trust, or Grassroots Alternatives? 18. Introduction DeeDee Halleck 207 19. Social Capital, Civic Space, and the Digital Revolution: Emerging Strategies for Public Broadcasting Barry Dornfeld 215 20. Resisting the Market Model of the Information Highway Sandra Smeltzer and Leslie Regan Shade 226 21. Public Television in the Digital Age: Town Hall or Cyber Mall? Jerold M. Starr 238 22. The Grassroots Radio Movement in the United States Marty Durlin and Cathy Melio 252 23. Microradio: A Tool for Community Empowerment Andrea Cano 265 About the Editors and Contributors 277 Index 279 List of Tables and Figures Tables 4.1 Public Broadcasting System Revenues, 1982-1999 44 4.2 Member Contributions to Public Television Stations, 1989-1999 45 9.1 Underwriting and Genre 90 9.2 Underwriting and Business Category 91 10.1 Sample Statistics 98 10.2 LEWF and Program Streamlining at KUOP from 1996 to August 17, 1998 99 I 0.3 Audience Characteristics by Network or Local Program Preference I 0 1 10.4 Audience Characteristics by News or Musical Program Preference 103 Figures 9.1 Frequency of Underwriting Spots at Different Times of the Day 89 11.1 Early Direct Broadcast Satellite Dish 113 11.2 "The Deep Dish Process" 116 17.1 Percentage of Canadians Using the Internet in the Past Three Months 197 17.2 Where Did You Use an Internet Account in the Past Three Months? 199 vii This page intentionally left blank Series Foreword Public radio and television are the premier broadcast services in America and have been for three decades. In an age when the majority of commercial radio stations program pop music and inane babble, and commercial televi sion outlets air mind-numbing "sick-corns" and reality shows about dys functional households, public broadcasting has consistently offered intelligent and compelling features. It has kept the electronic media from drowning in the morass of fast-food audio and video spewed from the nearly 12,000 spot driven signals on the radio and television bands. While commercial radio and television have had their share of shining moments in the post-World War II era, it has been public broadcasting that has upheld, and in many cases exceeded, the standards attained during radio's much heralded heyday of the 1930s and 1940s and television's golden age of the 1950s and 1960s, when creativity and innovation were allowed more than an occasional excur sion into the ether. As the blanding of the commercial radio dial accelerates today due to rampant station consolidations and downsizings-the result of the elimination of ownership caps in 1996-the service that public radio provides its loyal audience becomes an even more precious commodity. This new book by Michael P. McCauley, Eric E. Peterson, B. Lee Artz, and DeeDee Halleck, an appropriate and valuable addition to the series, seeks to examine the unique role of electronic media in American society and culture. More over, it addresses issues central to public broadcasting's continued existence as a public trustee in an age when the government funding it relies on is rapidly diminishing and other new and evolving listening and viewing tech nologies, such as the Internet and direct broadcast satellite, compete with the traditionaJ airwaves. In these insightful chapters, public broadcasting is care fully and thoughtfully examined and in the process its value as a communica tion medium is challenged, ratified, and confirmed yet again. Michael Keith Boston College ix
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