American Broadcasting and the First Amendment - by Lucas A Powe (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Why have radio and television never been granted the same First Amendment freedoms that we have always accorded the printed word? In this fascinating work, Lucas A. Powe, Jr., examines the strange paradox governing our treatment of the two types of media. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1987.

From the Back Cover

"Powe's seminal--and remarkably readable--work should go a long way in righting this basic half-a-century-old constitutional error which adversely affects the free flow of information essential to a viable democracy."--Richard Salant, former president, CBS News

"As enthralling as it is persuasive. It is the one book the Supreme Court should read before deciding on the future character of the First Amendment protections for broadcasters, cablecasters, and the rest of us."--Floyd Abrams

"The most compelling study to date of how the regulation of American broadcasting has been eroding the freedom of America's press."--Edward Fouhy, Washington Journalism Review

"Publication of a serious book analyzing the precarious legal basis for licensing broadcasting could not be more timely. . . . In calm, careful language largely devoid of legalisms, [Powe's] message is simple and persuasive: The government should butt out of regulating traditional broadcasting and the new broadcast technologies and let the marketplace work."--Tom Goldstein, San Francisco Chronicle

About the Author

Lucas A. Powe, Jr. is the Anne Green Regents Chair in Law and Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin.