DOING IT MY WAY - BROADCASTING REGULATION IN CAPITALIST CULTURES - THE CASE OF FAIRNESS AND IMPARTIALITY

This article considers the suspension of the Fairness Doctrine in the USA and the legal instatement of the professional practice of impartia lity in Britain as examples of two very different approaches to the re gulation of broadcasting. These developments are located within the co ntext of the shifts and changes of the pos-Cold War period and are con sidered in terms of the highly differentiated unfolding of the bourgeo is revolution in these two countries. It is also suggested that the pr actices of impartiality on the one hand, and of broadcaster advocacy o r editorializing on the other, may be key factors for the outcome of a democratic process which seeks to identify the public interest and to foster the expression of public opinion.