Tactical Media Communication Policy Notes
10-19-06
Fred Johnson

Public Interest and the Media
- Thinking about impact on community
- Politics
- Democracy
- Diversity of ideas/culture

Political Philosophy: Radical <-->Liberal – not all that useful, recall Jason’s remarks. Very valuable way of understanding communication policy debates with the current heavy emphasis on “libertarianism.”

Democratic
+
Individual +++ Collective
+
Totalitarian


Terms of the debate:
Conservative – think market will figure it out
Liberal --- Regulation and Reform in the public interest while allowing corporations to thrive
Radical – Public ownership
Monopolies vs Market

Monopolies DON’T:
- innovate
- diverse
- do the unpopular
- share
- price competitively
+ they sell services at a low price to kill smaller competitors, then jack up prices (price gouging)

Points of view
- corporate
- regulatory
- consumer affairs – ask if PEG access raises rates

Two other ways to view the policy discussion:
- Media Culture: Issues like access and representation, current affairs programming.
- Infrastructure Development

Media Policy – Levels of Regulation:
1.-Federal
2.-State
3.-Local (county/municipality)
4.-GAT (global, formerly WTO) *new

Media Policy Venues or sites
1.-Courts
2.-Legislative Bodies
3.-Administrative bureaucracy
4.-International????

Regulatory Categories (based on type of software; differences in business models & computer management):
- Broadcasting
- Cable
- Telephony
- Internet

Emerging Issues:
1. Copyright
2. Definition of communication service vs. cable service (Title 1 & 2)
3. Must carry
A FCC regulation requiring that cable TV systems must carry all locally-licensed television stations. This was done to prevent cable from destroying free over-the-air television.
elastic demand for cable keep prices high and censor local stations
4. General Public License (GPL) agreement
a. Open source and free distribution
b. Creative Commons
5. WIFI (or now WIMAX)
6. Public ownership / monopoly
a.The Shell Game
7. Broadband over powerlines


Key Concepts in Communication Policy

Net Neutrality
-Maintaining the free flow of digital information on the internet; open and equal access for all
Concentration of ownership/ Duopoly
-Any marketplace where consumer choice is limited to two service providers
-Cable and DSL providers control almost 98% of the marketplace
Digital Divide
-Gap between communities in their access and knowledge of technology
- Tied to educational and economic restraints
Access to Internet, Broadcast
-Assistive Technology
-Web content accessibility
Public Interest
-Community Programming
-Community Media
Copyright Law, Intellectual Property Rights