The Decline and Fall of Public Broadcasting

Book excerpt: Concentration of the media has reached new heights, making it harder for alternative and critical voices to gain a hearing. The recent $86 billion merger of Time Warner and AOL is just one of many signs of the narrowing of information sources. Market pressures have also encroached on the original mission of public broadcasting, which was to "provide a voice for groups that may otherwise be unheard." Yet around the country, creative journalists and activists are creating more democratic, informative, and engaging media. Whether they are working to defend and expand democratic access to existing media or building their own media alternatives through the radio, television, or the World Wide Web, they are pioneering new ways of sharing information. In the Decline and Fall of Public Broadcasting, David Barsamian gives an insider's account of these new media activists and the challenges they confront, drawing on his years of experience in public radio. Since 1986, Barsamian has been the producer of the highly acclaimed Alternative Radio, a weekly one-hour public affairs program broadcast in North America, Europe, South Africa, and Australia, as well as short-wave radio and the Internet. David Barsamian is the producer of the award-winning syndicated radio program Alternative Radio. His interview books with luminaries such as Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, and Edward W. Said have sold in the hundreds of thousands. His most recent interview book is Propaganda and the Public Mind: Conversations with Noam Chomsky (South End Press, 2001). He is also the author of Eqbal Ahmad: Confronting Empire (South End Press, 2000). Also Available by David Barsamian Propaganda and the Public Mind: Conversations with Noam Chompsky TP $16.00 0-89608-634-8 * CUSA Eqbal Ahmad: Confronting Empire TP $16.00 ISBN 0-89608-615-1 * CUSA