Communication government agencies: the case of FCC

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4185/10.4185/RLCS-64-2009-842-526-539

Keywords:

communication regulation, government agencies, Federal Communications Commission, United States, democratization

Abstract

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is one of the pioneering regulatory agencies in relation to the communication system within the capitalist model. From a general perspective, beginning with its constitution, plan of action, and regulatory decisions, we carry out a research of the historical, political and economic conditions under which this commission operates and was created. The main objective is to outline the reasons for the failures and mistakes of the FCC, that has been accused –since its origins- of acting in defence of the industry interests it seemingly regulates, and not in the public interest; and of being a creature of Congress, with no real independence from the politic, economic, and judiciary power. The final purpose of this essay is to suggest the necessary democratization of the communicative space, which needs an agency transformation that could change the current defence of the existing status quo.

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Author Biography

Ana I Segovia Alonso, Complutense University of Madrid

Doctor in Information Sciences and professor of Information Theory and Communication Structure at the UCM.

She was awarded the Extraordinary Prize from the Faculty of Information Sciences of the Complutense University of Madrid and the First National Prize for Completion of University Education Studies by the Ministry of Education in 1995.

She is a founding member of the Spanish chapter and treasurer of ULEPICC (www.ulepicc.org).

Her research and articles revolve around the regulation, concentration, and ownership structure of the media from the perspective of the political economy of communication, including:

“Repercussions and changes in the laws of ownership of the media. The case of Clear Channel Communications ”(ZerR, 16, 2004. University of the Basque Country).

"A historical review of the multimedia concentration process in the United States" (Comunicación y Sociedad, 2 (new era), 2004. University of Guadalajara, Mexico) o “Globalization and the myth of size in the media and telecommunications industry” (ININCO Yearbook: Investigaciones de la Comunicación, vol. 17, nº 1, 2005, Central University of Venezuela).

Coordinator of vol. 11 of the CIC magazine (2006, Complutense University of Madrid), dedicated to the Political Economy of Communication.

References

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Published

2009-02-02

How to Cite

Segovia Alonso, A. I. (2009). Communication government agencies: the case of FCC. Revista Latina De Comunicación Social, (64), 526–539. https://doi.org/10.4185/10.4185/RLCS-64-2009-842-526-539

Issue

No. 64 (2009)

Section

Miscellaneous
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