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The History and Politics of Public Radio

A Comprehensive Analysis of Taxpayer-Financed US Broadcasting

  • Book
  • © 2021

Overview

Authors:
  1. James T. Bennett

    1. George Mason University, Fairfax, USA

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  • Presents an informative, highly readable, and even entertaining history of educational and public radio in the US
  • Examines current and often contentious debates about the mission and performance of National Public Radio
  • Discusses the fundamental question of whether the federal government should subsidize media outlets

Part of the book series: Studies in Public Choice (SIPC, volume 41)

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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-vii
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • James T. Bennett
    Pages 1-3

  3. Don’t Give the Public What It Wants; Give the Public What It Needs

    • James T. Bennett
    Pages 5-27

  4. Radio is Good for You! The Rise of Educational Radio

    • James T. Bennett
    Pages 29-38

  5. Carnegie’s Lemon? The Birth of NPR

    • James T. Bennett
    Pages 39-55

  6. Washington Versus The Sticks

    • James T. Bennett
    Pages 57-84

  7. Left, Right, or Always Establishment? The Bias Issue

    • James T. Bennett
    Pages 85-97

  8. Newt [Gingrich] Cometh

    • James T. Bennett
    Pages 99-124

  9. Conclusion: What Is to Be Done?

    • James T. Bennett
    Pages 125-133
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Keywords

About this book

This book presents an absorbing study of how educational radio, which originated to broadcast weather forecasts to farmers, has become what the Pew Center calls the most trusted source of news for American liberals and a regular in the rogue's gallery of election-year conservative targets.The Nielsen Company reported in late 2019 that 272 million Americans listen to "traditional radio" each week, a number exceeding those who watch television, use a smartphone, or access the Internet. Yet almost from the start, radio has also been flayed as a noise box of inanity, a transmitter of low-brow entertainment, an instrument of cultural degradation promoting vapid popular music, and a medium whose ultimate purpose is to convince listeners to purchase the goods and services incessantly hawked by the advertisers who underwrite the programs and allegedly dictate content. At the same time, an alternative conception of radio existed as a vehicle for education and for cultural and intellectual(and even political) enlightenment. Most proponents of this perspective disdained advertising revenue and sought subsidies from foundations, wealthy patrons, or varying levels of government.
The long, winding road of educational radio led eventually to the creation of National Public Radio (NPR), a fixture on the left of the dial that can be seen as either the consummation or corruption of the educational radio movement. Prized by many liberals, especially affluent whites, and disparaged by many conservatives, NPR has become a potent symbol of the political polarization and cultural chasm that now characterizes the American conversation.


Authors and Affiliations

  • George Mason University, Fairfax, USA

    James T. Bennett

About the author

James T. Bennett holds the William P. Snavely Professorship in Political Economy and Public Policy at George Mason University (USA) and is a prolific author in the fields of public policy and public choice. In addition to numerous articles in academic journals, he has authored more than two dozen books on various topics.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The History and Politics of Public Radio

  • Book Subtitle: A Comprehensive Analysis of Taxpayer-Financed US Broadcasting

  • Authors: James T. Bennett

  • Series Title: Studies in Public Choice

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80019-2

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Economics and Finance, Economics and Finance (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-80018-5Published: 30 July 2021

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-80021-5Published: 31 July 2022

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-80019-2Published: 29 July 2021

  • Series ISSN: 0924-4700

  • Series E-ISSN: 2731-5258

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: VII, 133

  • Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Social Choice/Welfare Economics/Public Choice/Political Economy, Media and Communication, Public Policy

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