Dear Friends and Colleagues, (Apologies for cross-posting). My new book America's Battle for Media Democracy: The Triumph of Corporate Libertarianism and the Future of Media Reform was officially released earlier this month, and it's now available as an e-book and in paperback. Focusing on media activism around radio and newspapers in the 1940s, the book shows how this history holds much contemporary relevance for policy issues like net neutrality and the future of digital journalism. More info here: http://victorpickard.com/book/ Table of Contents Introduction: The policy origins and normative foundations of American media 1. The revolt against radio 2. A progressive turn at the FCC 3. The battle of the Blue Book 4. The origins of the Fairness Doctrine 5. The 1940s newspaper crisis and the birth of the Hutchins Commission 6. Should the giants be slain or persuaded to be good? 7. The postwar settlement for American media Conclusion: Confronting market failure Reviews "Today’s media didn't have to be so bad. Pickard tells a riveting and heretofore largely unknown story of how corporate media had its way with the public interest and trivialized our country’s civic dialogue, despite the efforts of reformers and a once-heroic FCC. Bringing the story right up to today’s high-stakes battle for an Open Internet, this is 'must-must' reading for anyone interested in putting our democracy back on track." Hon. Michael J. Copps, FCC Commissioner, 2001–2012 "America's Battle for Media Democracy is a well-researched, thoughtful, and lucid critique of media policy in the contemporary United States. To make his case, Pickard turns to history. During the 1940s, media activists joined together with government officials, academics, and even some corporate leaders to articulate an expansive, social democratic vision for newspapers and radio. The defeat of this movement hastened the triumph of corporate libertarianism - a tradition whose origin Pickard provocatively traces not to the free market fundamentalism of the recent past, but, rather, to the political settlement that followed the Second World War." Richard R. John, Columbia University "In America’s Battle for Media Democracy, Victor Pickard has produced a landmark work in communication history and media studies. Based on painstaking research, [he] sheds crucial new light on the political debates that created the contemporary commercial media system in the United States, and by doing so he allows us to envision a different and better future. This is mandatory reading for everyone concerned with media and politics." Robert W. McChesney, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign "Victor Pickard is a scholar on the rise. His writing is fine and to the point. There is always need for solid media history based on primary research and good analysis - and this book fulfills both." Christopher Sterling, George Washington University AMERICA'S BATTLE FOR MEDIA DEMOCRACY,<http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/politics-international-relations/american-government-politics-and-policy/americas-battle-media-democracy-triumph-corporate-libertarianism-and-future-media-reform> Cambridge University Press<http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/politics-international-relations/american-government-politics-and-policy/americas-battle-media-democracy-triumph-corporate-libertarianism-and-future-media-reform> Victor Pickard, Assistant Professor Annenberg School for Communication University of Pennsylvania 3620 Walnut Street Philadelphia PA 19104 Academia: https://upenn.academia.edu/VictorPickard Website: http://victorpickard.com/ Twitter: @VWPickard <http://twitter.com/VWPickard>