The role of the press in a democracy: Heterodox economics and the propaganda model

Abstract

Part of a special issue on papers from the 2004 AFEE meeting. Deregulation and concentration of ownership of media, as well as controversies surrounding the reporting of the war in Iraq, have raised doubts regarding independence of the press and the vitality of democracy in the U.S. Such a situation calls for the reestablishment of the public purpose requirement for broadcast licensing and the inclusion in it of a democracy criterion.