Politics in a Wired Nation [electronic resource] / Ithiel de Sola Pool and Herbert E. Alexander.
The implications for American politics, public affairs broadcasting, and new reporting under different sorts of cable television (CATV) systems are considered in detail by this report. The authors believe that a contract carrier system is the most desirable, since it makes broadcast time most freely...
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| Format: | Electronic eBook |
| Language: | English |
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[S.l.] :
Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse,
1971.
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| Summary: | The implications for American politics, public affairs broadcasting, and new reporting under different sorts of cable television (CATV) systems are considered in detail by this report. The authors believe that a contract carrier system is the most desirable, since it makes broadcast time most freely available and prevents the cable franchise owner from acquiring undesirable political influence and conflicts of interest. The report maintains that a multiplicity of channels will lead to a highly fragmented audience, with political material going mostly to very small audiences; secondly, the fragmented audience will have to be organized, and this will lead to a revitalization of grass roots organizations and local politics; finally, as politics becomes increasingly localized, public attention might be drawn away from its current focus on national problems. Consequently, the report suggests that a federal channel be provided as part of all CATV systems so that national information, which otherwise might be too expensive for local franchises to offer, will still be available to the public. (RH) |
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| Item Description: | ERIC Document Number: ED062805. ERIC Note: Report of the Sloan Commission on Cable Communications. |
| Physical Description: | 76 p. |