Author: Sloan Commission on Cable Communications

Publication Year: 1970

Media Type: Book

Summary:

Abstract:

Technology and the problems of technological change have long been matters of deep concern to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The publication of this Report on cable communications, however, marks a first venture by the Foundation into the complex arena of technology assessment.

The Foundation's trustees were responding to the clear need for an assessment of the possibilities, both positive and negative, of cable television when they established the Sloan Commission on Cable Communication in June 1970. Their hope was that out of such an assessment could come careful judgments and recommendations concerning the manner in which a powerful new technology should be encouraged to grow.

The Commission's task was a difficult one. Its report speaks clearly and constructively to the issues that are central to the future of cable communications. The report also demonstrates that a technological assessment, properly conceived and properly conducted, must deal with far more than the technology itself. Throughout there is an abiding concern with the social and economic consequences of a new technology, and with how the public interest might best be served by its growth and development.

CONTENTS
Preface.
Foreword.

  1. An introduction to cable television.
  2. The technology - a primer.
  3. A brief history.
  4. Prospects and possibilities.
  5. Cable in transition.
  6. Entertainment on the cable.
  7. Impact of cable on over-the-air television.
  8. News and opinion on the cable.
  9. Public services on the cable.
10. Politics on the cable.
11. The community voice.
12. Ownership and control of cable systems.
13. The regulation of cable.
14. Afterword.

Summary of major conclusions and recommendations.
Appendices.
     A. Present and probable CATV/Broadband-communication technology.
     B. Prospects and policies for CATV.
     C. Public access channels: The New York City experience.
     D. Research requirements.
     E. Abstracts of commissioned papers.
     F. Acknowledgments.

Arts & Intersections:

Categories: Community Development