Counterclockwise: Perspectives on Communication

Dallas Smythe

edited by Thomas Guback

*

Westview Press Boulder • San Francisco • Oxford

Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Dallas Smythe: Pioneer in the Political Economy of Communications, um Melody 1

Notes on Editing Dallas Smyfhe's Writings, Thomas Guback i

Chapter One "In 1948—49,1 began teaching what was almost certainly the first course anywhere in the political economy of Communications" 13

Excerpts from Autobiography, "Chapter 5: Immature Maturity: Washington, 1937-1948" 16

Excerpts from Autobiography, "Chapter 4: Mature Immaturity: The Urbana Years, 1948-1963" 37

Chapter Two

"The most basic and subtle dimension of television's 'reality' is the commercial context in which it is presented" 59

Reality as Presented by Television [1954] 61

Chapter Three

"The intellectuals are evidently mistaken in expecting pay-TV to serve their unique needs" 75

Menace of Pay-TV [1958] 76

Chapter Four

"Apply revenue from the rental of frequencies to commercial broadcasters to the support of a public service broadcasting agency" 85

Outline of a Proposal for Competitive U.S. Broadcast Systems [April 1960] 86

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Chapler Five

"The 'social responsibility theory' of the press in the twentieth Century is . . . part of the public relations program of big business" 91

Preliminary Statement of the Argument: Freedom of the Press Doctrine in Light of Social Class Structure, Political Economy, and Power [1959] 94

Freedom of the Press Doctrine in Its Class and Politico-economic Context[1959] 96

Chapter Six

"Cultural industry has gone a long way toward making political candidates into commodities" 107

The Modern Media Man and the Political Process [November 17,1960] 109

Chapter Seven

"War is like a plague or a disease which all nations should unite to exterminate" 127

The Spiral of Terror and the Mass Media [September 22,1960] 129

Chapter Eight

"What is new in weaponry is the development... of tactical nuclear weapons Systems . . . and the readiness to use them" 151

Policy on Information and Ideology: The Spiral of Terror (Part 2) [February 19-21,1981] 153

Chapter Nine

"It is necessary to recognize that the American people are constantly brain-rinsed with this rigid ideology" 161

Peace in a Shrinking World [February 5,1963] 162

Contents I ix

Chapter Ten

"Is . . . the real role of the FCC.. . one of advocate and agent for the private companies?" 175

The Space Giveaway, Part 1: Who Will Own Communications Satellites? [1961] 178

The Space Giveaway, Part 2: Public Benefit Versus Private Privilege[1961] 185

Chapter Eleven

"Require the corporate dissolution of the Bell System empire in order to create a System of independent viable entities" 193

Testimony on Behalf of American Communications Association: FCC Docket No. 14650 (Domestic Telegraph Operations and Services) [1964] 197

Chapter Twelve

"Technology... is highly political in character and imbued with the ideological point of view of the originating System" 213

Reflections on Proposais for an International Programme of Communications Research [September 1972] 216

Chapter Thirteen

"The power of capitalism today rests on its success in developing capitalist consumption relations" 227

After Bicycles, What? [March 1973] 230

Chapter Fourleen

"There can be no Marxist theory of the media until there is a general Marxist theory of Communications" 245

The Role of Mass Media and Populär Culture in Defining Development [September 17-21,1974] 247

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Chapter Fifteen

"The material reality under monopoly capitalism is that all non-sleeping time of most of the population is work time" 263

Communications: Blindspot of Western Marxism [ 1977] 266 Rejoinder to Graham Murdock [1978] 292

Chapter Sixteen

"Canada has not taken the necessary Steps to achieve cultural autonomy because we lack the political will to do so" 301

Culture, Communication "Technology," and Canadian Policy | June 6, 1986] 303

Chapter Seventeen

"The theory of self-reliance begins with an affirmation of the failure of the Western capitalist theory of development" 319

High-Tech: Who Wins, Who Loses? [November 1987] 321

Elllogy, Thomas Guback 331

About the Book and Editor 334 Index 335