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TO BE SEEN AND ALSO HEARD: TOWARD A MORE TRULY PUBLIC BROADCASTING SYSTEM FOR CHILDREN

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2020, PHD, Kent State University, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration.
The purpose of this humanities-based study is to evaluate how the American public broadcasting system has traditionally served children, how it currently fulfills that role, and finally to propose a new approach to children's public broadcasting that is more democratic and attentive to children’s interests. American broadcasting developed as a series of compromises amongst ideologically-opposed voters and organizations. Further, public broadcasters are reliant on private donors, thus diluting the democratic quality of their programming. The author argues that this paradigm violates children’s rights. The unsatisfied adult consumer of public broadcasting has political recourse by which they can attempt to influence regulations that affect public broadcasting. Children lack such political agency, so extra care must be taken to protect their interests; public content generated for them should be as free of market influence as possible, until they gain the agency to decide for themselves their thoughts on the interplay of public and private goods. The current public broadcasting paradigm does not evidently or obviously seek out children’s thoughts on the programming provided for them. The author argues that by allowing children a more direct voice in the shaping of programming created for them, public broadcasters may both serve their traditional, recognized function better by empirically demonstrating that their content matches their publics’ interests while also helping to ensure that children’s right to speak is being respected.
Natasha Levinson, PhD. (Advisor)
William Kist, PhD. (Committee Member)
Quentin Wheeler-Bell, PhD. (Committee Member)
220 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Judy, J. (2020). TO BE SEEN AND ALSO HEARD: TOWARD A MORE TRULY PUBLIC BROADCASTING SYSTEM FOR CHILDREN [Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1587498952367546

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Judy, Jon. TO BE SEEN AND ALSO HEARD: TOWARD A MORE TRULY PUBLIC BROADCASTING SYSTEM FOR CHILDREN. 2020. Kent State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1587498952367546.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Judy, Jon. "TO BE SEEN AND ALSO HEARD: TOWARD A MORE TRULY PUBLIC BROADCASTING SYSTEM FOR CHILDREN." Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1587498952367546

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)