THE UNITED STATES AND THE DIRECT BROADCAST SATELLITE: A CASE STUDY OF INTERNATIONAL MASS COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICS.
Item
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Title
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THE UNITED STATES AND THE DIRECT BROADCAST SATELLITE: A CASE STUDY OF INTERNATIONAL MASS COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICS.
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Identifier
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AAI8611360
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identifier
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8611360
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Creator
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LUTHER, SARA FLETCHER.
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Contributor
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Michael E. Brown
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Date
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1986
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Mass Communications
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Abstract
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The possibility of transborder direct television broadcasting by satellite (DBS) into dwelling places around the world raises important issues affecting international relations, state sovereignty, cultural interaction, and the organization of political-economic systems. That DBS is less costly per person than terrestrial systems and provides a much improved signal makes the new technology of particular importance not only to the developing nations but also to the global market interests of the developed countries. An understanding of the U.S. role in advancing the new technology requires a review of the history of radio development and of the emergence of international regulatory efforts, a period marked by two catastrophic wars, and a pattern of continuing east-west tension. The growing body of mass communications research conducted in the United States reflected these historical trends in interesting but uncritical ways, often serving to legitimate the interests of the media industry and, after World War II, the growing U.S. cultural and economic influence in the developing countries. The specific issue of television broadcasting across national borders via space satellite became a central concern of the developing nations and the Soviet Union during the late 60's and early 70's as they observed technological and entrepreneurial developments in the United States. At the same time international space law was emerging, as part of the larger body of accepted international law wich had become established through the existence and work of the United Nations and its many specialized agencies. Ten years of UN debate over whether or not a state has a right to reject a space television broadcast emanating from outside its borders ended in a stand-off, with the United States continuing to oppose any principle of "prior consent" and with the General Assembly voting to endorse it. The United States defends its position on the grounds of the First Amendment and a human right to a free flow of information. A Marxist theoretical framework is offered for understanding the depth and importance of the conflict, including the function and content of mass communications, the market imperatives of capitalism, and the contradictions which inhere under these conditions.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Sociology
