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The origins and evolution of the major insititutions in the United States for noncommercial radio and television are explored in this unique volume.
Ralph Engelman examines the politics behind the development of National Public Radio, Radio Pacifica and the Public Broadcasting Service. He traces the changing social forces that converged to launch and shape these institutions from the Second World War to the present day. The book challenges several commonly held beliefs - including that the mass media is simply a manipulative tool - and concludes that public broadcasting has an enormous potential as an emancipatory vehicle.
List of contents
Introduction
The Politics of Public Radio and Television
PART ONE: PROLOGUE, 1914-1945
The Public Origins of American Broadcasting
The Defeat of the Broadcast Reform Movement of the 1930s
PART TWO: PUBLIC RADIO
Pacifica Radio
The Vision of Lewis K Hill
The Spread of Community Radio and Pacificäs Institutional Crisis
National Public Radio
The Vision of William H Siemering
Public Radio
From Supplemental to Primary Service
PART THREE: PUBLIC TELEVISION
The Foundation Years
The Government Years
The Corporate Years
PART FOUR: COMMUNITY TELEVISION
Public Access
The Vision of George Stoney
The Struggle over the Future of Community TV
PART FIVE: CONCLUSION
The Mystification of the Public Sphere in the History of American Broadcasting
The Attack of the Right and the Future of Public Radio and Television
