Once upon a time, broadcasters were required -- by law and by conscience -- to operate in the “public interest, convenience, and necessity.” That mandate, etched into the Communications Act of 1934 and reaffirmed in 1952, was not merely bureaucratic language. It was the guiding light of American mass media. It meant that local television and radio stations, and the networks that owned or affiliated with them, had a civic responsibility: to inform, to educate, and to serve as a check on power.
The Public Interest Is No Longer in the Public Interest
