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Schedule Registration Housing |
| Saturday, January 8, 2000 3:30-5:15 p.m. |
Maryland Suite A
Marriott Wardman Park Hotel Lobby Level |
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Section on Mass Communication Law |
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| Jerome A. Barron, George Washington University, Chair |
| Structural Media Issues and a Democratic Society |
| Moderator and Speaker: | |
| The Structure of the Media and the Meaning of Diversity Jerome A. Barron, George Washington University |
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| Speakers: | |
| The Press Serving Democracy
C. Edwin Baker, University of Pennsylvania Decentralization of Information Production as a First Amendment Value Yochai Benkler, New York University Ownership and Content Lili Levi, University of Miami Media Mergers Christopher Wright, General Counsel, Federal Communications Commission, Washington, D.C. |
| The Telecommunications Act of 1996 focused on the structure of the communications industry. Although the 1996 Act did not create an entirely free market in the communications industry, it went further in that direction than ever before. In the interests of encouraging new technologies, new voices, and competition, the Telecommunications Act expanded the opportunities for cross-ownership in the cable and broadcast industries. Broadcast incumbents were given new protection. The Act also opened the way for telephone companies to offer video programming. These dramatic alterations in the ownership patterns of the affected industries have created substantial expectations. What has the Congressional and FCC reaction been? What has the public and industry reaction been? Do these changes implement or retard First Amendment objectives? Should structural change in the form of legislation or administrative regulation be treated as First Amendment issues at all? The panelists will explore these and other issues. |
| Business Meeting at Program Conclusion |