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Topics
Use the topics below to help sort through the content on Benton's Web site.
List the topics by: Alphabetically | Popularity | Subtopics
Broadcasting
Free, over-the-air television and radio; community-based, low-power FM radio stations; public radio and television; and the obligations of licensees to serve the public interest. A key principle of federal communications law is that in exchange for free use of the public airwaves broadcasters agree to take actions to benefit the public. These principles are enshrined in the Radio Act of 1927 and the Communications Act of 1934 in the mandate that "broadcasting serve the public interest, convenience and necessity."
Subtopics:
• Radio
Cable
Pay-TV services delivered by companies like Comcast and Time Warner. "Must-carry" refers to requirments that cable operators provide the signals of local TV broadcasters over their systems.
Subtopics:
• 70/70
• PEG
Children and Media
Exposure to educational television has been shown to have positive effects on the social, intellectual, and educational development of children. Is it possible to find truly educational content on broadcast television? Articles below deal with 1) television broadcasters' obligation to provide educational programming for children, 2) efforts to shield children from indecenct programming, 3) advertising aimed at children and 4) children and violence.
Emergency Communications
The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Huricane Katrina and other man-made and natural disasters often reveal flaws in emergency communications systems. Here we attempt to chart the effects of disasters on our telecommunications and media communications systems -- and efforts by policymakers to stregthen these systems.
FCC Reform
Congress is investigating Federal Communications Commission regulatory procedures to determine if they are being conducted in a fair, open, efficient, and transparent manner. Follow the debate here.
Quotes
From time to time, Headlines highlights quotes from communications policymakers and observers. Below is a collection of those quotes beginning in September 2006. (Feel free to use these at cocktail and dinner parties.)
Ten Years Ago
Benton's Communications-related headlines has been keeping subscribers up-to-date on the developments in communications policy for over ten years. Occasionally, we look back ten years to see what we were covering "back in the day."
Violence Regulation
Concerned about an increase in violence on television, the Federal Communications Commission is urging lawmakers to consider regulations that would restrict violent programs to late evening, when most children would not be watching.
What News Was
The Project for Excellence in Journalism is offering a weekly glimpse at what the news media are covering.