Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

1971

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Thomas, Robert D.

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate the concepts of representation and the public interest. The specific focus is on the Chairmen of the Federal Communications Commission from 1934 to the present. The basic proposition states that when the Chairman was favorable to the broadcast industry, he would espouse a Self- Regulatory philosophy in which government regulation of the industry was at a minimum. Two types of data were used: socioeconomic data and the Chairmen's statements concerning the public interest. The Chairmen ' s perceptions of the public interest were categorized in terms of their philosophical orientations and the extent of government control they deemed necessary to implement their philosophies . The two types of data were studied in order to obtain a profile of the Chairmen and to examine their perceptions of the public interest as they related to their socio- economic data. The study concluded that the Chairmen's legal training (82 per cent are lawyers) accounted for an attitude of medition and conciliation which carried over into the way they represented the public interest. While most Chairmen espouse a Self-Regulatory philosophy, the more recent Chairmen perceive the need for a stronger government with positive rule-making powers to regulate industry.

Extent

99 p.

Comments

Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1971.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

Identifier

FADT13465

Format

pdf

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