Digital Broadcasting and the Public Interest. Reports and Papers of the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program.

This publication is the result of a series of meetings convened to explore options for broadcast regulation in the digital era. The report offers a crucial context for these issues and aims to contribute to a greater understanding of the legal, constitutional, economic, political, and other issues surrounding the debate. The first section deals with law and policy and contains the following reports and papers: "Toward a New Approach to Public Interest Regulation of Digital Broadcasting" (Angela Campbell); "Public Interest Obligations of Broadcasters in the Digital Era: Law and Policy" (Henry Geller); "Government-Created Scarcity: Thinking about Broadcast Regulation and the First Amendment" (Tracy Westen); "Self-Regulation and the Public Interest" (Robert Corn-Revere); "On Hooks and Ladders" (Monroe E. Price); and "'Red Lion' and the Constitutionality of Regulation: A Conversation among the Justices" (Monroe E. Price). The second section covers economics and implementation: "Achieving the Public Interest in an Era of Abundance" (Forrest P. Chisman); "Broadcasting Policy in the Digital Age" (Andrew Graham); "A Structure and Efficiency Approach to Reforming Access and Content Policy" (Steven S. Wildman and D. Karen Frazer); "Implementation of 'Pay' Models and the Existing Public Trustee Model in the Digital Broadcast Era" (Henry Geller); and "Casting a Broader Net: The Obligations of 'Digital Broadcasters' in a Changing Media Environment" (Andrew L. Shapiro). The last section focuses on political broadcasting: "Enhancing Political Discourse: Proposals for Political Programming in the Digital Era" (Anthony Corrado); "The Public Interest and Digital Broadcasting: Options for Political Programming" (Anthony Corrado); and "A Proposal: Media Access for All Candidates and Ballot Measures" (Tracy Westen). A list of participants is appended. (DLS)