Prologue To a Farce Communication and Democracy in America

"Marshaling a wide range of sources, Lloyd's historical analysis of the politics of communication in the United States is one of the best available."--Journal of American History "Mark Lloyd offers a wide-ranging chronicle of American communication policy from the founding of the republic through the present day. This work is unique among historical examinations of American communication policy in that it is less about reforming media than about reforming democracy by providing citizens with full access to important public information and thereby restoring public dialogue to its central position as intended by the nation's founders."--American Journalism "Lloyd . . . has both law and journalism credentials and experience, and here he offers a critical history of American telecommunications and media policy. His theme is corporate domination, repeated with each succeeding technology, and how it prevents the media from offering true public value. . . . Lloyd offers a lot of food for thought. Highly recommended."--Choice "Mark Lloyd has written arguably the finest introduction to American media policy history I have read. Featuring an original and compelling argument, Lloyd draws not only upon extensive research but on his many years of experience as a public interest advocate. Prologue to a Farce should be required reading for media students, teachers, practitioners, and concerned citizens nationwide."--Robert W. McChesney, author of The Problem of the Media "A passionate, thoughtful account of our society's failure to use communications media in ways that enlarge democracy. A book for citizens as well as scholars of media and politics."--David Thorburn, Massachusetts Institute of Technology