Broadcast Technologies and Public Policy: Government Regulation of Radio and Television in the United States

广播技术和公共政策：美国政府对广播电视的监管

• 批准号: 9511607
• 负责人: Hugh Slotten
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: George Mason University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fixed Price Award
• 财政年份: 1995
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1995-07-15 至 1997-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9511607&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Broadcast; Technologies; Public; Policy; Government

The role of scientists and engineers in government decision-making poses a number of problems within a democracy. How does a regulator balance the technical expertise that a scientist brings while at the same time emphasize broad-based democratic participation which takes into account the controversial socio-political aspects of technical decision making? Dr. Slotten is exploring the areas of conflict as well as agreement and support in the intersection of technology, science, and the demands of a democratic society through an analysis of the Federal Radio Commission (FRC), organized in 1927, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), established in 1934. The FCC was created to extend the work of the FRC to regulate television and other communication technologies as well as radio. Dr. Slotten is focusing on the intersection of technical issues and the social, political, economic, legal, and cultural components of regulation by the federal government of the four most important broadcast technologies developed during the 20th century: AM and FM radio, monochrome and color TV. He is analyzing the public policy debate during the period when the public implications of each new technology first became important, examining specifically the role of the different participants and the significance of key policy decisions for the early commercial development of the technologies. This period was crucial for the establishment of the American system of broadcasting and the related culture of mass communications. By analyzing the complex interplay of different factors that went into the formation of public policy for radio and television, we not only gain a deeper understanding of the institutional and social framework in which policy decisions were made, but we also gain a better appreciation of the tensions and conflicts that continue to frame science and technology debates. This study is particularly timely given the current interest in revising the Communications Act of 1934 and in formula ting policies for the construction of a "national information infrastructure."

科学家和工程师在政府决策中的作用给民主国家带来了许多问题。监管机构如何平衡科学家带来的技术专业知识，同时强调基础广泛的民主参与，并考虑到技术决策中有争议的社会政治方面？ Slotten 博士通过对 1927 年组建的联邦无线电委员会 (FRC) 和 1934 年成立的联邦通信委员会 (FCC) 的分析，探索技术、科学和民主社会需求交叉领域的冲突领域以及协议和支持。FCC 的创建是为了扩展 FRC 的工作范围，以监管电视和其他通信技术以及广播。 Slotten 博士专注于技术问题与联邦政府对 20 世纪开发的四种最重要的广播技术（AM 和 FM 广播、单色和彩色电视）监管的社会、政治、经济、法律和文化组成部分的交叉点。他正在分析每项新技术的公共影响首次变得重要期间的公共政策辩论，具体研究不同参与者的作用以及关键政策决策对技术早期商业开发的重要性。这一时期对于美国广播系统和相关大众传播文化的建立至关重要。通过分析广播电视公共政策形成过程中不同因素的复杂相互作用，我们不仅可以更深入地了解制定政策决策的制度和社会框架，而且可以更好地理解持续构成科学和技术辩论的紧张和冲突。鉴于当前人们对修订 1934 年《通信法》和制定“国家信息基础设施”建设政策的兴趣，这项研究显得尤为及时。