Communications Policy and the Public Interest

Communications Policy and the Public Interest PDF

Author: Patricia Aufderheide

Publisher: Guilford Press

Published: 1999-01-15

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 9781572304253

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The passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 inaugurated a new and highly volatile era in telecommunications. The first major overhaul of U.S. communications law since 1934--when no one had a television set, a cordless phone, or a computer--the Act was spurred into being by broad shifts in technology use. Equally important, this book shows, the new law reflects important changes in our notions of the purpose of communications regulation and how it should be deployed. Focusing on the evolution of the concept of the public interest, Aufderheide examines how and why the legislation was developed, provides a thematic analysis of the Act itself, and charts its intended and unintended effects in business and policy. An abridged version of the Act is included, as are the Supreme Court decision that struck down one of its clauses, the Communications Decency Act, and a variety of pertinent speeches and policy arguments. Readers are also guided to a range of organizations and websites that offer legal updates and policy information. Finalist, McGannon Center Award for Social and Ethical Relevance in Communication Policy Research

A Legislative History of the Communications Act of 1934

A Legislative History of the Communications Act of 1934 PDF

Author: Max D. Paglin

Publisher:

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 1016

ISBN-13:

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The need for a comprehensive, annotated reference to the Communications Act of 1934 has been dramatically demonstrated in legal and government circles, but the legislative histories currently available contain only selected excerpts from the legislative documents, which are themselves prohibitively difficult to obtain. In this exhaustive reference, compiled by the former General Counsel and, later, Executive Director of the FCC, readers finally have access to the complete text of the Communications Act of 1934 as well as its underlying legislative components, including texts of Congressional hearings and debates, the Senate and House Committee reports, an index to the legislative materials and a wide range of other source material. Carefully annotated, the book includes a series of incisive articles on the historical, legal, and political aspects of the Act by such major figures in the communications field as Professor Glen O. Robinson, Kenneth A. Cox, William J. Byrnes, J. Roger Wollenberg, and Professor Ronald A. Cass. The most extensive collection of documents on the Communications Act ever published, this book will become an essential source for lawyers, judges, government agencies, Congressional staffs, and students and scholars of law and communications. This commemorative volume is produced through the cooperative efforts of the Golden Jubilee Commission on Telecommunications and the Federal Communications Bar Association.