The Pennsylvania State University the Graduate School College of Communications PUBLIC RADIO and PUBLIC ACCESS: APPLYING HD RADI
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The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of Communications PUBLIC RADIO AND PUBLIC ACCESS: APPLYING HD RADIO TECHNOLOGY TO A NEW FORM OF BROADCAST LOCALISM A Dissertation in Mass Communications by Craig A. Stark © 2009 Craig A. Stark Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2009 ii The dissertation of Craig A. Stark was reviewed and approved* by the following: Matthew Jackson Associate Professor Department Head, Department of Telecommunications Dissertation Advisor Chair of Committee Ronald V. Bettig Associate Professor of Communications Rosa Eberly Associate Professor of Communications Arts and Sciences Richard D. Taylor Palmer Chair of Telecommunications Studies and Law Co-Director of the Institute for Information Policy John S. Nichols Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research College of Communications *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School iii ABSTRACT The recent development and implementation of HD Radio technology provides an exciting and challenging future for radio broadcasting in the United States. With its ability to broadcast multiple channels HD Radio gives public radio stations a unique opportunity to reconsider localism and provide meaningful citizen access to the airwaves. The ability to provide diverse local content is particularly important for public radio since it has historically held a position of serving audiences that are underrepresented and underserved by commercial media. Until now, all policymaking attempts to foster localism have used indirect methods that rely on structural regulation or station management to determine how best to serve the local community. This has resulted in ineffective and inconsistent localism efforts that fail to support a robust public sphere where minority and unorthodox perspectives can be heard. The full range of opinions and viewpoints and the expression of what matters most to the community is more likely to be achieved by giving members of the local community direct access to the airwaves. Historically, direct access has been considered unfeasible because of the scarcity of frequencies available under the government’s management of the broadcast spectrum. Digital radio technology now gives stations the ability to transmit additional channels of content. Under current First Amendment jurisprudence, public radio stations can be required to provide access to broadcasting facilities and equipment for the local public. Access theory, as applied to broadcasting in prior Supreme Court cases provides a constitutional basis for this proposal. Current guidelines for PEG channels on cable television provide a workable, practical blueprint for citizen access to public radio. The potential of HD Radio to be used as a positive force for promoting localism can best be achieved with public radio stations providing public access to iv broadcasting and production facilities, as well as access to a digital channel on their HD Radio spectrum for the creation and distribution of local content. The intent of this dissertation is to provide a proposal that encourages public radio stations employing HD Radio technology to provide at least one digital channel for local public production and access. This is proposed in order for public radio stations to help foster the ideals and potential of broadcast localism as well as create a listening environment where local expression is encouraged and developed. When implemented this proposal will expand the public sphere and afford all individuals an opportunity to participate in public dialogue and democratic self-governance. v TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Acronyms vii List of Figures viii List of Tables ix Acknowledgements x Dedication xi Chapter 1. OVERVIEW AND THE RELEVANCE OF LOCALISM IN RADIO 1 Methodology 3 Research questions 5 Public radio in the United States 8 Why not commercial radio? 9 The public 15 Background of broadcast localism 22 The legality of access 23 HD Radio technology 24 Proposal for public access 26 The radio industry today 28 Why radio? 33 The relevance of localism 37 Chapter 2. NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO 43 History of NPR 43 Growth, development, and Project Independence 47 NPR today 52 What’s wrong with NPR? 55 Chapter 3. TOWARD A NEW OPERATIONALIZATION OF BROADCAST LOCALISM 63 Broadcast localism in the United States 63 The vagueness of defining localism 64 Attempts to operationalize localism 67 A new operationalization of broadcast localism 74 vi Chapter 4. ACCESS THEORY AND THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF PUBLIC ACCESS: A NEW OPERATIONALIZATION OF BROADCAST LOCALISM 78 Access theory 79 The regulation of access and content 81 Critiques of public access 83 How can public access benefit public radio stations? 85 A proposal for public radio to provide public access 86 Chapter 5. HD RADIO AND PEG ANALYSIS 90 The development of HD Radio 90 Technical characteristics 93 PEG channels and public access 99 Similarities and differences between PEG and digital public radio access 101 Concluding remarks 103 References 107 vii LIST OF ACRONYMS AAA Adult Album Alternative AM Amplitude Modulation AOR Album Oriented Rock CBS Columbia Broadcasting System CD Compact Disc CEA Consumer Electronics Association CIPA Children’s Internet Protection Act CPB Corporation for Public Broadcasting DAB Digital Audio Broadcasting EAS Emergency Alert System FCC Federal Communications Commission FRC Federal Radio Commission FM Frequency Modulation IBOC In-Band On Channel KHz Kilohertz kps Kilobits per second LPFM Low Power FM MHz Megahertz NAB National Association of Broadcasters NBC National Broadcasting Company NPR National Public Radio NRSC National Radio Systems Committee PEG Public, Educational, and Government RSS Really Simple Syndication viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 5.1: iBiquity Digital’s graphic illustration of the reduction in multipath interference using HD Radio…………………………………………………….94 ix LIST OF TABLES Table 5.1: One hybrid channel and one CD-quality digital channel……………………..97 Table 5.2: One hybrid channel and two FM-quality digital channels……………………97 Table 5.3: One hybrid channel, one FM-quality digital channel, and two AM/Talk quality digital channels………………………………………………………......98 Table 5.4: One hybrid channel and four AM/Talk quality digital channels……………..98 x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Matt Jackson, for his tremendous support and encouragement, and for his ability to help me remain calm throughout the entire dissertation process. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Ronald Bettig, Dr. Nancy Love, and Dr. Richard Taylor for their advice, encouragement, and motivational teaching during my time at Penn State. I would particularly like to thank Dr. Rosa Eberly for her willingness to serve on my committee on such short notice. Many thanks also to Dr. Patricia Hinchey for her inspiring lectures and motivation, as well as Tim Molnar, Steve Reighard, Dr. Ford Risley, and Dr. John Nichols for their support and friendship while teaching Radio News Production at Penn State. Finally, I want to express my deepest gratitude to my wife Victoria, and my sons Zachary and Jack for their patience and understanding through all of this. They have been constant sources of support, laughter, and motivation and there is no way I could have completed this chapter of my personal and professional life without them. xi DEDICATION In Memory of Gerald Eugene “Bucky” Turner 1923-2003 1 Chapter One OVERVIEW AND THE RELEVANCE OF LOCALISM IN RADIO The recent development and implementation of HD Radio technology provides an exciting and challenging future for radio broadcasting in the United States. With its ability to provide multiple broadcast channels within the spectrum space of one analog signal, HD Radio provides a unique opportunity for stations to provide a wide range of locally diverse and relevant content. This opportunity becomes even more tantalizing when considering how public radio stations might use the technology. The ability to provide diverse local content is especially important for public radio since it has historically held a unique position within the American media landscape of providing information and entertainment to audiences that have traditionally been underrepresented and underserved by commercial media outlets. Public radio has come under fire in recent years however, for its perceived abandonment of its founding principles and for its catering to a narrow, yet more profitable audience in order to maintain financial stability. In order to develop a proposal regarding the use of HD Radio technology by public radio stations so that they may provide locally diverse and relevant content, it is important to explore the characteristics of broadcast localism. Examining theoretical concepts and rationales of localism as well as its previous regulation provides a deeper understanding of its background and a better understanding why prior attempts to foster localism have not been successful. This exploration of broadcast localism is necessary if a new method of achieving it through the use of HD Radio technology is to be implemented. In addition to examining the conceptualization and history of localism, this dissertation provides an analysis of the radio industry from the political economy perspective. This analysis 2 provides a deeper insight into the economic and regulatory forces that direct the industry towards the consolidation of ownership and leads to the commodification and categorization of listeners as consumers instead