In this book, Paul Matzko tells the story of the emergence of ultra-conservative radio in the 1960s, and reveals the Kennedy administration's involvement in a censorship campaign against conservative broadcasters. The Radio Right provides the essential pre-history for the last four decades of conservative activism, as well as the historical context for current issues of political bias and censorship in the media.
The rise of right-wing broadcasting during the Cold War has been mostly forgotten today. But in the 1950s and ’60s you could turn on your radio any time of the day and listen to diatribes against communism, civil rights, the United Nations, fluoridation, federal income tax, Social Security, or JFK, as well as hosannas praising Barry Goldwater and Jesus Christ. Half a century before the rise of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, these broadcasters bucked the FCC’s public interest mandate and created an alternate universe of right-wing political coverage, anticommunist sermons, and pro-business bluster. A lively look back at this formative era, What’s Fair on the Air? charts the rise and fall of four of the most prominent right-wing broadcasters: H. L. Hunt, Dan Smoot, Carl McIntire, and Billy James Hargis. By the 1970s, all four had been hamstrung by the Internal Revenue Service, the FCC’s Fairness Doctrine, and the rise of a more effective conservative movement. But before losing their battle for the airwaves, Heather Hendershot reveals, they purveyed ideological notions that would eventually triumph, creating a potent brew of religion, politics, and dedication to free-market economics that paved the way for the rise of Ronald Reagan, the Moral Majority, Fox News, and the Tea Party.
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1978.
This book shows how disinformation spread by partisan organizations and media platforms undermines institutional legitimacy on which authoritative information depends.
Unlike newspapers, TV and radio broadcasting is subject to government regulation in the form of the FCC and the Fairness Doctrine, which requires stations "to devote a reasonable amount of broadcast time to the discussion of controversial issues" and "to do so farily, in order to afford reasonable opportunity for opposing viewpoints." In this provocative book, Fred W. Friendly, former president of CBS News examines the complex and critical arguments both for and against the Fairness Doctrine by analyzing the legal battles it has provoked.
Drawing from extensive archival research, the book uncovers the American media system's historical roots and normative foundations. It charts the rise and fall of a forgotten media-reform movement to recover alternatives and paths not taken.
"As traditional for-profit news media in the United States declines in economic viability and sheer numbers of outlets and staff, what does and what should the constitutional guarantee of freedom of the press mean? The book examines the current news ecosystem in the U.S. and chronicles historical developments in government involvement in shaping the industry. It argues that initiatives by the government and by private-sector actors are not only permitted but called for as transformations in technology, economics, and communications jeopardize the production and distribution of and trust in news and the very existence of local news reporting. It presents ten proposals for change to help preserve the free press essential to our democratic society"--
William Guest wakes up to find himself transported to a future utopian society. This bucolic society functions despite the absence of private property, marriage, prisons, courts, schools, and central government. The people are happy, healthy, and hard working. As he travels through this revitalized England, he discovers how this society works and how it came to be. Edward Bellamy’s 1888 utopian novel Looking Backward describes a very different future utopian society, where machines have reduced the need to work, and strong government redistributive policies have eliminated inequality. Morris, in reviewing that book, disagreed with its conclusions, and News from Nowhere presents his competing utopian vision. In Morris’ ideal society, work isn’t something to be eliminated by machines, but rather a way to exercise creativity and to grow closer both to nature and to others. Work is performed not through coercion but through genuine appreciation. Morris emphasizes the need to change not only the material aspects of capitalism, but also the way society views work, the environment, and the purpose of life. News from Nowhere is considered a landmark novel in anarchism and influenced many early twentieth century socialists. The first edition was serialized in the Commonweal in 1890, before being published as a book, with some editorial changes, in 1891. In 1892, Morris published a final edition as one of the first books printed by his soon-to-be-legendary publishing company, the Kelmscott Press. It was printed by hand at his own home, and decorated and typeset by him using a typeface he designed. This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.
In 2009, a bipartisan Knight Commission found that while the broadband age is enabling an info. and commun. renaissance, local communities in particular are being unevenly served with critical info. about local issues. Soon after the Knight Commission delivered its findings, the FCC initiated a working group to identify crosscurrent and trend, and make recommendations on how the info. needs of communities can be met in a broadband world. This report by the FCC Working Group on the Info. Needs of Communities addresses the rapidly changing media landscape in a broadband age. Contents: Media Landscape; The Policy and Regulatory Landscape; Recommendations. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand report.
