European broadcast rules: learning from the U.S. experience

Abstract

The United States has struggled with its laws concerning the media industry. The growth in technology and changing ideologies behind regulating the media has also added to inconsistencies in the law. As the political climate changes in Europe, and it enters the global economy, Jhe European Community will be faced with media problems similar to those encountered by the United States.

Examining the historical development of the mass media industry in the U.S. may provide a roadmap for the newly developing media industry in the EC. Using the history of antitrust laws and federal regulations in the U.S., and following their evolution and the philosophies which molded them, could suggest the logical course for the EC to use in developing its media industry. The historical perspective of the U.S. media industry may better equip the EC with knowledge of what problems to expect and perhaps how to prevent many of the regulation and antitrust problems previously encountered in the U.S. The format of this paper is to set out the changes in the antitrust and regulation laws in the U.S. and discuss the new EC directives currently underway for their media industry. The reasoning used in the U.S. for certain changes in media law may provide possible insight into some of the rationale used to create the new EC directives in their mass meaia industry.