“Media & Communications Policy” is a blog that strives to offer informed and thoughtful commentary on a variety of First Amendment and communications policy issues. The authors are avid observers and active participants in the communications policymaking process. Their observations on how the media affect and are affected by technology, commerce, politics, ideology, and social mores promise to be often provocative and always insightful – and not, we might add, beholden to the reigning ethos of political correctness.
About The Authors
Richard T. Kaplar is President and CEO of The Media Institute in Vienna, Va. He has written, edited, or produced more than 40 books and publications on a wide variety of communications policy and First Amendment issues.
Areas of Expertise
- Marketplace approaches to communications policy
- First Amendment – freedom of speech and press
- Media content controls; media ownership
- Commercial speech
Education
- John Carroll University, Cleveland, Ohio, Bachelor of Arts in English (magna cum laude)
- The American University, Washington, D.C., Master’s in Public Administration
Stuart N. Brotman is a Distinguished Senior Fellow of The Media Institute in Vienna, Va. He is the inaugural Howard Distinguished Endowed Professor of Media Management and Law and Beaman Professor of Journalism and Electronic Media at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Areas of Expertise
- Domestic and International media and telecommunications
- Intellectual property
- Broadband and Internet
- Digital media and digital privacy
- First Amendment – free speech and free press
- Entertainment and media law and policy
Education
- University of California, Berkeley, Juris Doctor
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Master of Arts, Communications
- Northwestern University (summa cum laude), Bachelor of Science, Communication Studies and Mass Media
- Harvard Law School, Professional Certification in Negotiation and Mediation
Author Emeritus (archived articles)
Patrick D. Maines is President Emeritus of The Media Institute in Vienna, Va. He served as President and CEO from 1983 to 2017.