Social Forces: Economics, Technology, and Policy 1/26/15 10:40 PM • Digital integration and impact on the media is the product of social forces—especially those involving economics, technology, and policy. • The digital revolution has gone through at least three stages: • 1970’s to early 1990’s o invention and early development involving the military and educational institutions • 1994 to 2000 o internet comes to home and heralds dot-com boom • 2001 o dot-com bust and regrouping with high-speed internet and new strategies resulting in web 2.0 • the public interest is at the center of all communication law and policy and is drawn from the First Amendment and regulatory rules. • Media revenues come mainly from advertising and user fees, such as cable subscriptions, etc. • Broadcasting and narrowcasting coexist in the modern media world, although interactivity and digital communication is changing the stakes. • A “law of large numbers” in media economics lives alongside a “law of right numbers,” one aiming for the biggest possible audience, the other seeking targeted, segmented portions of the audience. • Although most Americans approve of a free press and believe we have one, the mass media in the United States operate in a complex web of limitations arising from politics and government. • The First Amendment forbids Congress to make laws restricting the freedom of the press, but that freedom often conflicts with other rights, such as the right to privacy and the right to a fair trial. • Libel laws are intended to protect people from false and damaging statements made about them, and libel suits today can result in awards of millions of dollars. • The courts have sometimes placed restrictions on the press to try to limit publicity that might prejudice juries, but generally efforts in this area have centered on voluntary cooperation from the press. • Obscene material is not clearly under the protection of the First Amendment. Although the courts take action to prevent the publication or broadcast of material deemed obscene, debate continues over what exactly constitutes obscenity and how far it should be controlled.• Reporters claim a right to keep their sources confidential. Some have been willing to go to jail rather than identify their sources when ordered to do so by the courts. • The courts are frequently referees when the right to a free press and other rights conflict. Legislatures and the executive branch also influence the press, both through the formal powers and informal influence over the flow of information. Both bureaucrats and politicians through informal influence can introduce bias in what is reported. • The FCC has the power to regulate many aspects of broadcasting but is sometimes less than vigorous in doing so. Groups of private citizens as well as public opinion exert other pressures on the press. • The media are largely commercial enterprises and live within the rules of the larger economy. • The digital economy of the present day is partly driven by technology and communication (or media industries). • The digital revolution has caused all media to seek innovative and alternative business
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