The Struggle for Self-Determination: Public Broadcasting, Policy Problems and Reform.

In the current communications regulatory and policymaking environment there are several factors of crucial importance to public broadcasting, including (1) the system's increased visibility; (2) the impact of inflation on governmental budget decisions; (3) policymaker assumptions about new technologies, economic forces, and deregulation; and (4) concerns about the system's performance in such areas as financial accountability and public access and participation. These and other factors have been reflected in recent Federal Communications Commission notice and proposed rules, in the "Public Telecommunications Financing Act of 1978," and in the various proposals for the rewrite of the Communications Act. The main participants in this debate have been members of the communications reform, policymaking, and professional public broadcasting communities. The debate has revealed changes and some inconsistency in policy toward public broadcasting, which appear to be leading to a softening of federal support for the system, to its continued politicization, and to certain public service losses. These difficulties suggest the advisability of reassessments among all involved parties--the reformers, the policymakers, and the public broadcasters. (Author/FL)