The Gore Commission, 10 Years Later: The Public Interest Obligations of Digital TV Broadcasters in Perfect Hindsight
The Gore Commission, 10 Years Later:
The Public Interest Obligations of Digital TV Broadcasters in Perfect Hindsight
A mini-conference
Friday, October 3, 2008, 8:30 a.m.
National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor
Washington, DC
On December 18, 1998, the Advisory Committee on Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters, commonly referred to as the "Gore Commission," released its final report, recommending:
- Disclosure of "public interest activities" by commercial broadcasters
- A voluntary standard of conduct crafted by the industry
- A minimum standard of public interest requirements set by the FCC
- A trust fund for public broadcasters to be established by Congress; and
- Five minutes airtime per night for "candidate-centered discourse in the 30 days before an election," set to commence Sunday, October 5, 2008
Have the recommendations been implemented? Has the approach worked? Are the standards and regulations advocated relevant in today's media marketplace? What has experience taught us about broadcast regulation and public interest obligations?
8:30 am: Welcome THOMAS HAZLETT
Professor of Law and Economics, George Mason University School of Law
Director, Information Economy Project
8:45 am: GIGI SOHN
President, Public Knowledge
Member of the Advisory Committee on Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters ("Gore Commission")
9:30 am: NORMAN ORNSTEIN*
Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
Co-Chair, Gore Commission
10:15 am: HENRY GELLER
Retired General Counsel, Federal Communications Commission, 1964-70
Assistant to FCC Chairman Dean Burch, 1970-1974
Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 1978-1981
11:00 am Adjourn
*Invited
When: Friday, October 3, 2008, 8:30 a.m. - 11 a.m.
Where: National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor, Washington, DC
Admission is free, but seating is limited. See IEP Web page: http://iep.gmu.edu.
To reserve your spot, please email Drew Clark: iep.gmu@gmail.com.
About the Information Economy Project:
The Information Economy Project at George Mason University sits at the intersection of academic research and public policy, producing peer-reviewed scholarly research, as well as hosting conferences and lectures with prominent thinkers in the Information Economy. The project brings the discipline of law and economics to telecommunications policy. More information about the project is available at http://iep.gmu.edu.