To Irrigate a Wasteland: The Struggle to Shape a Public Television System in the United States

To Irrigate a Wasteland: The Struggle to Shape a Public Television System in the United States captures a pivotal moment in American media history, when the promise of television was still contested between commercial imperatives and public ideals. Delivered as the distinguished Gaither Lectures, John W. Macy, Jr.—the first president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting—offers an insider’s account of the policy battles, institutional negotiations, and cultural aspirations that defined...