Research Reports
Marc Cooper: Digital Society Project
The Digital Society Project is an ongoing research initiative led by McGannon Center Affiliated Scholar Dr. Mark Cooper. The principle of ubiquitous access to an open communications network has been at the center of U.S. communications policy throughout its history. Reflecting this principle, preserving the basic institutional and and economic relations that have contributed to the immense success of the Internet are the primary objectives of the Digital Society Project. This project seeks to extend Dr. Cooper’s history of analysis and involvement to preserve these core values as the Public Switched Telephone Network transforms into the public digital communications network. Research produced through the Digital Society Project thus far:
Margot Hardenbergh: The TV Oral History Project
With the support of grants from the Markle Foundation and the Ford Foundation, the McGannon Center has been developing an archive of in-depth interviews with important figures in the history and development of the television industry in the United States, with a particular emphasis on regulation and policy issues and events.
These interviews are being archived at Fordham University’s Walsh Library, and ultimately will be available on-line for research and teaching purposes. It is hoped that the TV Oral History Project will prove a useful resource for students, scholars, industry professionals, and others interested in developing a greater understanding of the history and evolution of the U.S. television industry. The lead interviewer for the TV Oral History Project is Margot Hardenbergh, faculty member in the Department of Communication and Media Studies. The interviews are now accessible online.
Individuals who have generously donated their time to be interviewed for the TV Oral History Project include:
Jack Bowen, broadcast advertising pioneer;
William Bresnan, former CEO and President of Bresnan Communications;
Kenneth Cox, former FCC Commissioner;
James Day, President of WNET;
Lawrence Freiberg, former President of WNEW;
Henry Geller, former General Council for the FCC;
Herb Granath, Senior Vice President of ABC;
Larry Grossman, former President of NBC News;
Gustav Hauser, former President Warner/Amex Cable;
Richard Hirsch, Catholic broadcasting pioneer;
Donald Hyatt, documentary filmmaker;
Gene Jankowski, former President of CBS;
Norman Lear, television series producer/creator/writer;
Newton Minow, former FCC Chairman;
Irene Murphy-McInerney, former actress for Dumont Television;
Richard M. Pack, former Senior Vice President of Group W Stations;
Everett Parker, former Director of United Church of Christ Communications Office;
Randall Pinkston, CBS correspondent, one of first African-American news anchors;
Henry Rivera, former FCC Commissioner;
Marlene Sanders, first woman to anchor prime-time network newscast;
George Stoney, independent documentary film maker;
Don Taffner, President of Don Taffner, Inc.;
Arthur Taylor, former President of CBS;
Carolyn Wall, General Manager of WNYW;
Al Wasserman, independent documentary film maker;
Av Westin, broadcast journalist;
Richard Wiley, former FCC Chairman
From the Public Switched Telephone Network to the Public Digital Communications Network [pdf]
By Mark Cooper, Affiliated Scholar, McGannon Center
Public Interest Media Activism and Advocacy: An Annotated Bibliography
This annotated bibliography was prepared in connection with the McGannon Center’s research report, Public Interest Media Activism and Advocacy as a Social Movement: A Review of the Literature. This bibliography has been prepared as a resource for scholars, activists, policy professionals, and students interested in the field of media activism and advocacy, both in the U.S. and abroad.
Mapping Communication and Media Research in the U.S. [pdf]
This project, conducted by the Communication Reseach Center (CRC) at the University of Helsinki, constituted part of the research undertaken by theMcGannon Center’s Visiting Research Fellow (and CRC research team member) Minna Aslama during her time at the McGannon Center. This study is part of a larger series of studies examining the state of communications research in various countries around the world.
The Localism Principle in Communications Policymaking: An Annotated Bibliography
This annotated bibliography was prepared in connection with the ongoing FCC proceeding investigating the state of broadcast localism in the United States. This bibliography has been prepared as a resource for scholars, activists, policy professionals, and students interested in the meaning and function of localism in U.S. media regulation.
Media Diversity and Localism: Meaning, Metrics, and the Public Interest: Conference Report
This detailed report is the outgrowth of a conference organized and hosted by the McGannon Center, with the support of the Ford Foundation, in December of 2003. The purpose of the conference was bring together an inter-disciplinary collection of scholars, along with policy professionals, industry representatives, activists, and advocates, to share research related to the process of developing rigorous metrics for measuring diversity and localism in the U.S. media system.