ABSTRACT
The central mechanism by which the three major networks of America shape the contents of American broadcasting, especially that of television, has been firmly established now for several decades; it appears to be overwhelmingly powerful. There are individuals and groups who are trying to create additional elements within the system of American broadcasting, the most important being the phenomenon of public television, which grew out of the chain of educational television stations licensed in the 1950s. Throughout the history of broadcasting in America, there has been the development, parallel to the mainstream growth of the networks, of stations of a totally non-commercial nature. The importance of imminent changes in American broadcasting is that the products of a powerful and volatile system travel around the world and become the dominant broadcasting culture of so many other nations.
