"Both interesting and informative, Public Interests makes an extremely valuable contribution to our understanding of media activism in the United States." ? Heather Hendershot, author of What's Fair on the Air?: Cold War Right-Wing Broadcasting and the Public Interest "Perlman's meticulously researched and well-argued book is an invaluable addition to policy studies, media history, and the literature on social activism . As the tools, capacities, and concerns of media reformers continue to shift in the digital era, I strongly recommend this history for its careful explication of the past and thoughtful analysis of what we can learn from that history for our present and future." ? Mass Communication and Society "Perlman fills in a longstanding gap in television history with this well-researched account of several generations of dedicated reformers, whose efforts made a difference to the major political movements of the twentieth century and beyond.an important story, convincingly told." ? Michele Hilmes, author of Only Connect: A Cultural History of American Broadcasting, 4th ed. "Allison Perlman has given the elusive construct of 'the public interest' some brilliant contours in this historical tour-de-force of social movements and their transformative relationship with media policy." ? Jennifer Holt, author of Empires of Entertainment "An excellent book that should interest scholars of media history and media studies, US post-war history in general, as well as cultural studies.

" ? Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television "Allison Perlman?s story of media advocacy.offers a bracing antidote to [a] gloomy trajectory." ? Journal of American History.