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Misregulating Television: Network Dominance and the Fcc

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Books of this nature help to capture the regulatory flavor of an era. These four authors are to be commended for describing the climate of the FCC as television and radio were dominant forces of mass communication in the days before the internet. The marketplace was much more limited at the time and the era of deregulation was not in full blown force. In fact, the Commission took its watchdog role seriously in seeking to do what was in the best interest of the American people, not the players with the largest amount of dollars in the marketplace. In spite of all this, the agency misregulated the medium. The stage was set for the process to evolve as it has in subsequent decades. The authors contend "governmental policies virtually precluded entry by additional networks." While the Commission's policy statement would mention one item such as diversity, there was no actual way it could be measured. A considerable discussion focuses on the network/affiliate relationship. This book helps to show the evolution of what became the "marketplace model" of regulation of the FCC of the early 21st century.