1. Not-so-quotable Quotes from short-sighted broadcasters:  “There will never be a 4th TV network.”  “No one will pay for cable TV.”  “No one will pay for services like HBO.”  “The radio industry is criminal today”  “TV is a vast wasteland today”  “Germany had anti-democratic, we should take a dose of our own medicine

2.  “No one will pay $50 for a boxing on PPV.”  “A game show will never again succeed in prime time.”  “When the government allocates monopoly rights to broadcasters, its picking the winners in this game.”  This course about un-reported and under-discussed nature of US Broadcast history  That is what the course is about

3. Key Terms Today:  CONVERGENCE  MEDIA CONSOLIDATION  NEW TECHNOLOGIES  NARROW POLITICAL POSSIBILITIES  INCREASED JOB OPPORTUNITIES  MEDIA RECOGNIZED AS CENTRAL  COMMUNICATION THE CORE

4. Convergence:  “…the combination of more than one medium, where the media can include speech, music, text, data, graphics, fax, image, video and animation…”  Marshall McLuhan (it will change us!)  What happens to cultural producers?  Who gets to control the pace (ideas)

5. Consolidation:  “…a media company’s attempt to increase market share and become more profitable through the acquisition of more diverse media outlets…”  The huge increase in Power, Control!  Do voices get squelched in process  Is broadcasting business/public service

6. Electronic Media  Broadcast (Radio then TV) Change  Cable (Does it have advantages)  Wireless Cable (Where is it going?)  DBS (Will it win, expand choices?)  Internet (Who frames the questions?)  Hybrids (Perhaps the real story)  A time to ask big questions?

7. Broadcast Media:  Utilizes PUBLIC RADIO WAVES to emit its signal to viewers and listeners  Is that still a viable concept or reality  [De] Regulated by government because it uses PUBLIC AIRWAVES to distribute  Does Convergence change all rules?  First Amendment, diversity, politics

8. American Commercial Media  Did Founders planned it this way?  Laissez-faire philosophy  1st Amendment protected opinions  Is Media serving democracy  Do we need a NEW DEBATE/New World

9. Broadcast Paradox:  The struggle to serve the public while turning a profit for shareholders  That concept strained to the limit  The struggle to make money while serving the public (is it even possible?)  Do conservative media owners work to exclude contrary opinion  Would new movement get on the air?

10. Broadcast Media:  Still the PRINCIPAL PROVIDERS of news and entertainment (Like or not!)  Still the MOST WATCHED source of the above (well over 50% of us)  Do Americans understand themselves and the world? Big Issue here.  Can we call profit media free now?  Look at the BBC and NBC, then answer  Is new Reform movement needed?

11. Cable:  More people on cable than not  People resent the high costs  Narrowcasting AIM ads at audiences  Already connected to most homes  Can be transmitted wirelessly through a series of microwave towers  What is its future, changes coming

12. DBS (Direct Broadcast Satellite)  Uses public airwaves but is considered “non-broadcast” because…  Only subscribers can receive their signal  Is that a flimsy rationale for seperation  Is it a ploy to lead to massive dereg?  Does reg serve the public, can it?

13. Internet  Contains programming and has a structure of its own that’s evolving  It relies on telephone, cable, wireless and satellite for transmission  Began as a hybrid but has gained an identity of its own  Will commerce or people rule, the age old question played out again?

14. Common Carriers  Supply communication facilities, such as telephones and satellites  Assume no responsibility for conversations or programming transmitted on the facility  Have no need for protection under the First Amendment  Will they change, penetrate other areas

15. DIFFERENCES  supply equipment  need to get license  government controls fees and profits  Lives under more restrictions  supply programming  difficult to acquire NEW license but easy to keep  Should we auction  Profits? Sky’s the limit!  Convergence, will it create winners/losers Common CarriersElectronic Media

16. Cable and the Internet:  Mix of both common carrier and electronic media  That’s why the government has struggled over how to regulate them  Do they have an obligation to serve the public… like broadcasters?  The questions mount, the technology surpassed our ability to keep up  We can be sure market model will prevail

17. The Future and the Past  A long way from Lee DeForest?  We’re much more literate in all ways  Can the center hold on status quo  Social movements go elsewhere  Will fed-up people develop own nets  Will government fight back/people  Is the problem exaggerated?