Great attention is being paid to the current high definition television (HDTV) system proposals that are being examined by the Federal Communications Commission Advisory Committee, and due to be tested over the next few years by the Advanced Television Test Center and by Cable Television Laboratories. Arguing that the focus of this activity has…

The testimony of the United States Attorney General which appears in this document concentrates on three areas: (1) the coordination of federal drug control efforts and the reorganization of the National Drug Policy Board; (2) the performance of the National Drug Policy Board; and (3) the Administration's views on the proposed "Drug…

This paper identifies some of the major developments and activities in cable television in relation to education in Canada. It begins by providing a general overview of the cable industry from 1952 to 1983, including the revision of the Broadcasting Act in 1968 to give jurisdiction over the cable television industry to the newly created Canadian…

This paper, the third in a series exploring future options for public policy in the communications and information arenas, argues that the communications spectrum--e.g., public mobile service, private radio, and domestic satellites--is a valuable but limited resource that should benefit all Americans. After a background discussion, it is…

In August 1978, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began studying the question of how to increase the diversity and coverage of television broadcast services either by modifying the television translator rules or by creating a new low power television service (LPTV). In Septemer 1980, the FCC finally adopted a "Notice of Proposed…

The goals of this dissertation are to provide an empirical examination of the impact of competing technologies on cable television firms and to document existing pricing behavior in the cable and pay programming industry. The introduction provides a brief overview of the cable television industry, including the impact of cable on federal policy…

This document presents testimony heard on S. 2418, a bill to authorize the Librarian of Congress to construct the Library of Congress Mass Book Deacidification Facility at Fort Detrick, near Frederick, Maryland, subject to the supervision and construction authority of a federal, civilian, or military agency. The facility would be used to…

Two surveys were conducted to determine the attitudes of public relations practitioners and educators regarding whether public relations practitioners should be licensed. Questionnaires were mailed to public relations practitioners to obtain data for the first survey, and a second survey was mailed several months later to public relations…

Designed to simulate a Senate committee hearing on software copyright laws, this role-playing game exposes students to a wide variety of viewpoints about software copying, including piracy. The game is structured to bring out as many points of view as possible; the goal of the simulation is exposure to these various points, not the final committee…

This circular details the methods for investigating whether a work is under copyright protection, and, if so, the facts of the copyright. Both in-person searches at the Copyright Office and searches by the Copyright Office staff for a $10.00 per hour fee are detailed. The circular also explains the effect of the Copyright Act of 1976, which…

The concept of "deregulation" of the broadcast media has dominated the regulatory landscape for the past decade, inexorably altering the range of possibilities available for racial and ethnic pluralism in the mass media. Deregulation has created a regulatory atmosphere in which the permissibility of regulation is judged by whether the…

That competition in broadcasting may not bring about sufficiently heterogeneous programing has long been the subject of debate among policymakers, and nowhere has that debate been more acrimonious than in its application to the diversification of radio formats. While the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) prefers to leave questions of…

This report summarizes the General Accounting Office's (GAO) review of six federal agencies' compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and its 1980 amendments. The six agencies have not fully complied with their responsibilities and, as a result, federally owned or managed historic properties have been damaged or allowed to…

The Medicare Catastrophic Loss Prevention Act of 1987, a bill which would protect Medicare beneficiaries from catastrophic expenses associated with covered Medicare services is reported on in this document from the Senate Committee on Finance. The report opens with the Committee's recommendations that the bill pass as amended. The background and…

This basic, entry-level guidebook introduces public broadcasters to videotext or teletext technology and the range of services it can provide. Following an explanation of basic terms and a review of the early history of videotext, a summary of research findings from commercial and public trials of teletext addresses such topics as consumer…