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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)

The public interest refers to the "common well-being" or "general welfare." The public interest is central to policy debates, politics, democracy and the nature of government itself. While nearly everyone claims that aiding the common well-being or general welfare is positive, there is little, if any, consensus on what exactly constitutes the public interest, or whether the concept itself is a coherent one.

Definitions[link]

According to the Random House Dictionary, Public interest is "1. the welfare or well-being of the general public; commonwealth. 2. appeal or relevance to the general populace: a news story of public interest."^[1]

Economist Lok Sang Ho in his Public Policy and the Public Interest(Routledge, 2012, published 2011) argues that the public interest must be assessed impartially and therefore defines the public interest as the "ex ante welfare of the representative individual." ^[2] Under a thought experiment, assuming that there is an equal chance for one to be anyone in society, and thus could benefit or suffer from a change, the public interest is by definition enhanced whenever that change is preferred to the status quo ex ante. This approach is "ex ante" in the sense that the change is not evaluated after the fact, but assessed before the fact without knowing whether one would actually benefit or suffer from it. This approach follows the "veil of ignorance" approach, which was first proposed by John Harsanyi but popularized by John Rawls in his 1971 Theory of Justice.^[3] Historically, however, the approach can be traced to John Stuart Mill, who in his letter to George Grote, explained: “human happiness, even one’s own, is in general more successfully pursued by acting on general rules, than by measuring the consequences of each act; and this is still more the case with the general happiness, since any other plan would not only leave everybody uncertain what to expect, but would involve perpetual quarrelling….”(in Francis E.Mineka and Dwight N.Lindley (eds)The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume XIV - The Later Letters of John Stuart Mill 1849-1873 Part I, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul,Published 1972, Vol. XV, p.762, 1862.)

Problems with the ex post or consequential approach[link]

The definitions of public interest based on the ex post or consequential approach are unavoidably debatable, leading to ambiguity and confusion.

Based on the ex post approach, for instance, there are different views on how many members of the public must benefit from an action before it can be declared to be in the public interest: at one extreme, an action has to benefit every single member of society in order to be truly in the public interest; at the other extreme, any action can be in the public interest as long as it benefits some of the population and harms none. But these extreme views are clearly not very useful in practice, since most cases of public policy involve some people gaining and some people losing.

Nicholas Kaldor and John Hicks offer two alternative but related ways to resolve the problem. The basic concept is that the gainers must gain more than the losers lose. Kaldor stated that the gainers must be able to compensate all the losers and still go along with the change, if the change is in the public interest. Hicks stated that the losers must NOT be able to bribe the gainers from forgoing the change, if the change is good for the public interest. It is observed that the Kaldorian position, if the compensations actually take place, is no different from the Pareto improvement criterion for enhancing social welfare. But if compensations do not actually take place, with gainers merely "potentially compensating the losers," people will not come to a consensus and agree that the change enhances the public interest.

But it should be clear that some acts in the public interest can be bad for some individuals. There may be an agreement that some interests are unique to the public. Stephen Krasner, a political scientist used a similar methodology in his book Defending the National Interest. Krasner identifies cases in which no corporate interest is found in US foreign policy in order to identify and analyze a national interest. The ex ante approach to the definition of the public interest would encompass this.

Public interest law[link]

According to Edwin Rekosh, Executive Director of PILnet: The Global Network for Public Interest Law (www.pilnet.org), "public interest law does not describe a body of law or a legal field; the term was adopted to describe whom the public interest lawyers were representing, rather than what matters they would work on. Instead of representing powerful economic interests, they chose to be advocates for those living in poverty. The term has grown, however, to encompass a broader range of activities of lawyers and non-lawyers working toward civil rights, civil liberties, women's rights, consumer rights, environmental protection, and 'fighting for the little guy'; - that is, representing vulnerable segments of society." ^[4]

Public interest law is widely understood as including at least civil representation through legal aid organizations and indigent criminal defense provided either by legal aid or the public defender (depending on the country). Other non-profit organizations that provide legal advice and representation to poor people also fall under the umbrella of public interest law.

United Kingdom public interest law[link]

In law, public interest is a defence against certain lawsuits (for instance some libel suits in the United Kingdom) and an exemption from certain laws or regulations (for instance freedom of information laws in the UK).

Also, judges in common law systems can make judgements on the grounds of public policy, a related term.

Public interest & the government[link]

Public interest has been considered as the core of "democratic theories of government” and often paired with two other concepts, "convenience" and "necessity."^[5] Public interest, convenience and necessity appear first time in the Transportation Act of 1920 and also appear in the Radio Act of 1927. After that, these three concepts became critical criteria for making communication policies and solving some related disputes.

Public interest & communication policies[link]

Public interest is at the heart of many communication laws. To serve the public interests has been one of the main goals of communication policies.

According to the Communications Act of 1934, SEC. 303. "Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the Commission from time to time, as public convenience, interest, or necessity requires, shall-...(g) Study new uses for radio, provide for experimental uses of frequencies, and generally encourage the larger and more effective use of radio in the public interest."

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires the regulators must make sure all regulation is consistent with the requirement of "public interest, convenience, and necessity." (e.g. SEC. 251. INTERCONNECTION (2)(B))

See also[link]

• Common good
• Condorcet paradox
• Convenience
• National interest
• Necessity
• Pareto optimality
• Radio Act of 1927
• Telecommunications Act of 1996

References[link]

External links[link]

• American Psychological Association's Public Interest Directorate
• Federal Communications Commission

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2011)

Mark Guiliana

Mark Guiliana (born Florham Park‚ New Jersey in 1980) is an American drummer, composer, and leader of the band Beat Music. He is known for his playing with Avishai Cohen's Trio and Quartet, Meshell Ndegeocello, Dhafer Youssef, Gretchen Parlato, Tigran Hamasyan, Matisyahu, and his old band Heernt.

Discography[link]

With Avishai Cohen[link]

• Lyla (2003)
• At Home (2004)
• Continuo (2006)
• As is...Live at the Blue Note (2007)
• Gently Disturbed (2008)
• Sha'ot Regishot (2008)

With Heernt[link]

• Locked in a Basement (2006)

With Now vs. Now[link]

• Now vs Now (2009)

Mark Guiliana[link]

• EP (2010)

With Dhafer Youssef Quartet[link]

• Abu Nawas Rhapsody (2010)

With Aaron Dugan[link]

• Theory of Everything (2010)

With Phronesis[link]

• Alive (2010)

With A Mob of Unruly Angels[link]

• Mob of Unruly Angels (2010)

With Donny McCaslin[link]

• Perpetual Motion (2011)

With Brad Shepik[link]

• Across The Way (2011)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• drummerworld.com

This article on a United States drummer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Peter Mansbridge OC LLD (hc)
Peter Mansbridge at Mount Allison University in May 2011
Born	(1948-07-06) July 6, 1948 (age 63) London, England
Nationality	Canadian
Occupation	broadcast news anchor
Spouse	Parm Dhillon (?-1975)[1] Wendy Mesley (1989-1992) Cynthia Dale (1998-present)

Peter Mansbridge, OC (born July 6, 1948), an English-Canadian broadcaster and news anchor. He is chief correspondent for CBC News and anchor of The National, CBC Television's flagship nightly newscast. Mansbridge has received many awards and accolades for his journalistic work including an honorary doctorate from Mount Allison University where he is serving as chancellor until December 2013.^[2]

Early life[link]

Mansbridge was born in London, England and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, where he attended Glebe Collegiate Institute, but dropped out before graduating. He served in the Royal Canadian Navy in 1966 and 1967 and completed high school at Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario.

Newscasting career[link]

While working at Churchill Airport in Churchill, Manitoba in 1968, Mansbridge was recruited to work for a local radio station by a radio executive who heard his voice making a flight announcement (Mansbridge's regular job was as a baggage handler). From there, he moved to CBC Radio's northern service, still in Churchill. In 1971 he moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba to continue as a reporter for CBC Radio and while there in 1972 began as a reporter for CBC Television.

In 1975, he became The National's reporter for Saskatchewan, and in 1976 he became parliamentary correspondent in Ottawa. Following a decade of political coverage, Mansbridge had become a substitute anchor for Knowlton Nash and in 1988, was reportedly being recruited by U.S. broadcaster CBS for a prominent position. Nash, in fact, voluntarily gave up his position as anchor later that year, specifically so that Mansbridge would be promoted to anchor and remain in Canada.

During his tenure at the helm of CBC's flagship newscast beginning May 1, 1988 (as co-anchor of CBC Prime Time News from November 1992 to fall 1995, and as sole anchor of The National otherwise), he has covered Canadian news stories including federal elections, party leadership conventions, the Meech Lake Accord negotiations, the Charlottetown Accord and its referendum, the 1995 Quebec referendum, floods in Manitoba in 1997, ice storms in Ontario and Quebec in 1998, the six days in September 2000 that marked the death and state funeral of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, the 2003 blackout across much of Eastern North America and the death and state funeral of Jack Layton. His coverage of the blackout was notable because the normally clean-shaven Mansbridge had grown a beard during his summer hiatus (as he did every summer), and the news of the blackout broke with no time for him to shave. Thus, Canadian viewers saw a bearded Peter Mansbridge reporting on the events of that day.

He has also anchored coverage of many world events, both in the studio and on the scene. In the studio, he anchored coverage of the Gulf War, the War in Kosovo, and the events surrounding September 11, 2001. He was on the air live when the 2003 invasion of Iraq began and anchored coverage of it. On the scene, he anchored coverage of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the funerals of Diana, Princess of Wales and Pope John Paul II, numerous royal, papal, and U.S. presidential visits to Canada, numerous Olympic Games, and the inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama. He reported extensively from Normandy both 50 and then 60 years after D-Day and from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands for the fiftieth anniversary of V-E Day. He also reported from the Netherlands for the sixtieth anniversary of V-E Day.

In 1999, he launched a new program, Mansbridge One on One, in which he interviews newsmakers.

With the retirement of Lloyd Robertson of CTV National News on September 1, 2011, Mansbridge became the longest-serving active anchor among the big three anchors in Canada, as Dawna Friesen had taken over as anchor at Global National only in 2010.^[3] Lisa LaFlamme taking over for Robertson also meant that Mansbridge is the only male anchor among the big three anchors in Canada (Mansbridge, LaFlamme, and Friesen).^[4]

Personal life[link]

Mansbridge has been married three times. His previous marriage to CBC colleague Wendy Mesley (January 6, 1989–1992) became regular tabloid fodder in Frank Magazine as their marriage ended.^[5] He has been married to Canadian actress Cynthia Dale since November 14, 1998,^[6] and they have a son, William, born in 1999.^[7] Mansbridge has two daughters from a first marriage which ended in 1975. He lives in Stratford, Ontario with his family.

Awards and honorary degrees[link]

Peter Mansbridge received his first honorary degree in 1999 from Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick where he currently serves as Chancellor.^[2] On July 1, 2008, he was appointed by Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada as Officer of the Order of Canada, the second grade of the highest civilian honour in Canada. He received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 2001.^[8] He received an honorary Doctor of Journalism degree from Ryerson University in Toronto in 2005.^[9] He received the honorary degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LL.D.) from the University of Western Ontario, in London, Ontario on June 9, 2008.^[10] He received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario on June 17, 2010.^[11]

References[link]

External links[link]

• CBC Personalities - Peter Mansbridge
• CBC Newsworld - Mansbridge One on One
• The Canadian Encyclopedia: Mansbridge, Peter
• Peter Mansbridge at the Internet Movie Database