Summary Of Newton Minow's Essential Bargain

1) In 1961, Newton Minow (FCC Chairman) gave a speech to American broadcasters called “Television and the Public Interest” in which he laid out his vision for the American television industry. Briefly, he believed that television had a specific role and responsibility in society, one he felt that the television industry was currently falling short. In his speech, he proposed a bargain between all involved; the essential bargain in his vision would be agreement between the FCC, the television networks, the sponsors and advertisers (Minow). The basic idea of this bargain would be that networks working together with the sponsors and advertisers would provide overall beneficial content to the public that served its interests by educating, informing …show more content…
This concept was critically important to the television industry, its advancements and its connection to the viewer. I believe the concept of the essential bargain is highly pertinent to the core study for this class as we think about the important role that television has played as a leader in modern mass media. The essential bargain helped institutionalize and shape how the public perceives mass media, how mass media content is developed and delivered and how that impacts culture and society as a whole. 2) During Minow’s speech he tries to convey the importance of his message has on American people by providing evidence to support his claims, even calling out other respected opinions on the matter. At one point Minow takes a direct quote from Governor Leroy Collins of Florida when he discusses and …show more content…
The issue for some providers was accepting the bargain without understanding where they would need to draw the line and what programs would qualify as quality programming. Minow tried to alleviate these concerns in his speech as he posed these questions to the audience: “Why should you want to know how close you can come to the edge of the cliff? What the Commission asks of you is to make a conscientious, good-faith effort to serve the public interest.” (Para. 44). Minow was trying to demonstrate that the bargain shouldn’t be thought of as a strict set of laws that would come with harsh punishments if violated, but more of a guideline that should be respected and followed to the best of each individual network’s abilities. Minow was likely trying to gain as much acceptance as possible by structuring an agreement where subjectivity could come into play as long as the content providers could demonstrate that they were making a genuine concerted effort to comply. However, even in these remarks he continues to stress the idea of public interest ensuring that the content providers, sponsors and advertisers understood that serving the public’s interest would determine the quality of the programming and compliance with his proposed