Is the Telecommunications Act of 1996 Broken?


Book Description

Influential industry and government leaders speak out on the first major overhaul of US communications policy in over 60 years. Contributors include: F. Duane Ackerman; William P. Barr; Thomas J. Bliley; Paul W. MacAvoy; Richard D. McCormick; Gregory Sidak; Robert D. Willig; and John D. Zeglis.










The Book of Broken Promises


Book Description

Broken Promises is the third book in a trilogy spanning 18 years. Bruce Kushnick, author, senior telecom analyst and industry insider, lays out, in all of the gory details, how America paid over $400 billion to be the first fully fiber optic-based nation yet ended up 27th in the world for high-speed Internet (40th in upload speeds). But this is only a part of this story. With over four million people filing with the FCC to 'Free the Net', one thing is abundantly clear -- customers know something is terribly wrong. Every time you pay your bills you notice that the price of your services keeps going up, you don't have a serious choice for Internet (ISP), broadband or cable service, much less competitors fighting for your business, or maybe you can't even get very fast broadband service. Worse, over the last few years, America's ISPs and cable companies have been rated "the most hated companies in America". While Net Neutrality concerns (detailed in Broken Promises) are important, the actions are only a first step and will most likely be tied up in court for the next few years. More importantly, it does not resolve most of the customer issues and there is nothing else on the horizon that will fix what's broken. Broken Promises documents the massive overcharging and failure to properly upgrade the networks, the deceptive billing practices, the harms caused from a lack of competition, the gaming and manipulating of the regulatory system, from the states to the FCC, and exposes the companies' primary strategy: How much can we get away with? There has been little, if any, regard for the customers they serve.--From http://newnetworks.com/bookbrokenpromises/ --(viewed on June 12, 2015).




The Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet


Book Description

As seen on CBS 60 Minutes "No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." Did you know that these twenty-six words are responsible for much of America's multibillion-dollar online industry? What we can and cannot write, say, and do online is based on just one law—a law that protects online services from lawsuits based on user content. Jeff Kosseff exposes the workings of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which has lived mostly in the shadows since its enshrinement in 1996. Because many segments of American society now exist largely online, Kosseff argues that we need to understand and pay attention to what Section 230 really means and how it affects what we like, share, and comment upon every day. The Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet tells the story of the institutions that flourished as a result of this powerful statute. It introduces us to those who created the law, those who advocated for it, and those involved in some of the most prominent cases decided under the law. Kosseff assesses the law that has facilitated freedom of online speech, trolling, and much more. His keen eye for the law, combined with his background as an award-winning journalist, demystifies a statute that affects all our lives –for good and for ill. While Section 230 may be imperfect and in need of refinement, Kosseff maintains that it is necessary to foster free speech and innovation. For filings from many of the cases discussed in the book and updates about Section 230, visit jeffkosseff.com







--And Communications for All


Book Description

In . . . And Communications for All, 16 leading communications policy scholars present a comprehensive telecommunications policy agenda for the new federal administration. This agenda emphasizes the potential of information technologies to improve democratic discourse, social responsibility, and the quality of life along with the means by which it can be made available to all Americans. Schejter has assembled an analysis of the reasons for the failure of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and offers an international benchmark for the future of telecommunications. Addressing a range of topics, including network neutrality, rural connectivity, media ownership, minority ownership, spectrum policy, universal broadband policy, and media for children, it articulates a comprehensive vision for the United States as a twenty-first-century information society that is both internally inclusive and globally competitive.




African Americans and Mass Media


Book Description

In African Americans and Mass Media, Richard T. Craig explores the relationship among the lack of media ownership diversity, in addition to the political, and economical, influences, and policy developments influencing media ownership. Craig also addresses the concern of growing media monopolies and the decline in minority media ownership since the passing of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Focusing the policy argument on this act and the deregulation of media ownership, this book explores, the jeopardy jeopardizing of diminishedas well as the influence on content. Observing Black Entertainment Television (BET) in the last five years of African American ownership and the first five years of conglomerate ownership—paralleling the first decade after the Telecommunications Act was passed—the book includes information about the changes made to information programming on the network. Craig asserts that despite the overwhelming presence of African Americans holding executive positions with the network, Viacom, BET’s current owner, influences the network’s programming and relegates the cultural identity of the network to profit interests. BET is observed as a case study reflective of the importance ethnic media and perspectives reflective of cultural ethnic identities, targeting ethnic audiences. African Americans and Mass Media chronicles the significance of ethnic media, drawing particular attention to African American media in the United States, and advocates for increased communication policy development bolstering minority ownership.




Late-breaking Foreign Policy


Book Description




Our Damaged Democracy


Book Description

“A Washington insider draws on decades of experience to deliver a blistering critique of the state of American government” (Kirkus Reviews) in an authoritative scrutiny of the forces that run our society and a call to fix our democracy before it’s too late. If you’ve been watching the news and worrying that our democracy no longer works, this book, “a cri de coeur from one of our wisest Americans” (Michael Beschloss, Presidential Historian), will help you understand why you’re right. There is colossal concentration of power in the Presidency. Congress is crippled by partisanship and hostage to special interest money. The Supreme Court and many lower federal courts are riven by politics. Add politically fractured and fragile media, feckless campaign finance laws, rampant income and education inequality, and multicultural divisions, and it’s no wonder our leaders can’t agree on anything or muster a solid majority of Americans behind them. With decades at the top in government, law, and business, Joseph A. Califano, Jr. has the capacity to be party-neutral in his evaluation and the perspective to see the big picture of our democracy. Using revealing anecdotes featuring every modern president and actions of both parties, he makes the urgent case that while we do not need to agree on all aspects of politics, we do need to trust each other and be worthy of that trust. He shows how, as engaged citizens, we can bring back systems of government that promote fairness and protect our freedom. “It’s hard to argue with [Califano’s] analysis” (The New York Times Book Review) that the longer we wait to fix these problems, the more dangerous our situation will become.