| Description |
This study examines the conflicts, contradictions, and assumptions of policy-makers who tried to reconcile the transformation of U.S. communications policy from a theoretical paradigm that included public service idealism and social aspiration to a regulatory regime that came to be dominated by market forces pragmatism. Although there has never been a universally accepted articulation of broadcasters' obligations to the public that has remained consistent over time, the struggle over this contested terrain came to dominate the controversy over media ownership regulations during Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael Powell's tenure from 2001-2004. Powell's emphasis on economic competition as a means to serve the public interest in broadcasting did not resonate with the interpretive communities whose support was needed to forward his agenda. This study investigates the gulf between Powell's interpretation of the public interest and that of other stakeholders groups in the policy-making process. The data examined for this project include several types of primary sources: official FCC policy memoranda and orders, statements, research reports, the text; of speeches made by FCC commissioners, as well as transcripts of public hearings conducted throughout the period of study. Additional data were gathered from Congressional hearings and testimony, legal documents and decisions, and research reports conducted by public service organizations. Secondary sources were used to provide context;. Trade journals, academic journals, newspapers, other periodicals produced by interested parties are included in this category. This study grouped policy stakeholders into relatively discrete interpretive communities so that the perspectives of each could be examined. Although the FCC, Congress, the courts, industry groups, and the public have varying degrees of influence over policy decisions, each of these groups had unique perspectives that contributed to policy-making process during the FCC's Third Biennial Review procedures. This study finds that despite the comprehensive reappraisal of communications policy that was ushered in after the enactment of the Telecommunication Act of 1996, the focus of the FCC on pragmatic market considerations did not diminish the desire of some stakeholders to perpetuate communications policy that includes a measure of social aspiration and public service. |
