Recovering a Public Vision for Public Television (Critical Media Studies: Institutions, Politics, and Culture)

In 1995 public television faced possible elimination of federal funding, potentially commercializing this unique type of broadcasting. Recovering a Public Vision for Public Television suggests that these recent strains are the same political blows that have historically undermined public broadcasting; the result is programming that no longer prioritizes social reform and popular community. This book investigates three important moments in the development of public media in the United States: the Wagner-Hatfield Amendment of 1934, the FCC hearings for educational frequencies in 1950-51, and the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. Glenda Balas not only examines these critical events in detail, but also explores how they restrict public broadcasting's institutional vision. The book's six-point plan proposes a reconstitution and rejuvenation of public broadcasting's mission so it can advance into the twenty-first century as a leader in public speech.