(FCC is) Following Fox's Orders

[joeunderdog]

When right-wing/Fox News media mogul Rupert Murdoch says “jump,” it appears the Bush Administration and Congress say “how high?” After the FCC deregulated media ownership laws, conservatives and progressives banded together to pass legislation through both houses of Congress that would have rebuked the Bush Administration and the FCC, preserving the limit of 35% on how many viewers one giant media company can control. According to Dow Jones, Murdoch's company, News Corp. (along with Viacom) had already taken the liberty of breaking that ownership cap; this meant if the House and Senate-approved bill became law, he would have had to divest some of his holdings. But before the bills became law, Murdoch swung into action. On 9/9/03, he told Bloomberg News that he expected the White House to veto Congress's media legislation if it came to his desk, and just two days later, the White House issued a formal veto threat. And now the fruits of that veto threat have been reaped. As Reuters reports, "U.S. legislators gave in to White House pressure on Monday and agreed to allow increased control of the airwaves by television networks." Specifically, Congress accepted a 39% cap – accommodating Murdoch's News Corp. and Viacom, while ignoring the will of both houses of Congress and millions of Americans who voiced their outrage at the FCC's deregulation decision. As the Financial Times' headline aptly puts it, "Murdoch Boosted by Retreat on Media Rules."

snip

THE PAYOFF: Why would the White House and the congressional leadership defy the will of rank and file lawmakers and millions of Americans? Common Cause posits one answer: Money. As they report, "media companies and their allies have given more than $29 million in political contributions since 1995, and spent nearly $95 million lobbying Washington during that same period."

more...
http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=6228

[BuelahWitch]

1. Is Murdoch even a citizen?

He's Australian, no??

[Dudley_DUright]

3. Now a US citizen

<snip>

A mid-1990s political storm held the potential to be the most costly that had ever surrounded Murdoch. Nearly ten years after he had become an American citizen, and after many millions of dollars had been invested in the FOX network and its owned-and-operated stations, questions arose related to Murdoch's avoidance of the FCC's restrictions on foreign ownership of television stations. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which was seeking to block the purchase of a Philadelphia television station by FOX, asked the FCC to investigate whether it was Murdoch who owned the FOX stations, as he and News Corp. claimed, or whether Australian-based News Corp. was the legal owner, which would be in violation of the rules. NBC joined the NAACP in asking the FCC to pursue the investigation, but eventually withdrew from the complaint after gaining access for their programming on Murdoch's Star-TV service in Asia. However, the NAACP continued to pursue the issue.

<snip>

http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/murdochrupe/murdochrupe.htm

[arcane1]

2. "U.S. legislators gave in to White House pressure on Monday"??

:wtf:

I missed that!!

every 'yes' voter in Congress should be ridden out of town with tar & feathers, this is a BLATANT SELL-OUT!!!

:grr:

:mad:

:argh:

[Dudley_DUright]

4. You were suppose to have missed it

It is to the advantage of big media that you not be informed of this egregious sellout, and so you were not.

[BuelahWitch]

5. Yeah, it would interrupt all important news

about Michael, Kobe or Laci Peterson dammit! :mad:

[cthrumatrix]

6. like Dean says...break up these guys...their no good

[Zhade]

7. Sigh...I'm going to be working for this guy by the end of the year.

I cannot even begin to describe how disgusted I am by that fact. He's buying DirecTV - pretty soon, my bread and butter will be keeping his propaganda on the air!

I feel like a soon-to-be-sellout, myself. :(

[DUreader]

11. You will be a sellout, unless you think of something

[54anickel]

8. What happened? All that bold talk about how they would NOT

cave in on this one. I have lost all hope in our elected officials. They have absolutely no stones. We write letters, e-mails, AFL-CIO, moveon, etc. on so many issues and yet our voices are totally ignored!
Medicare
OT pay changes
FCC rules
Soon Social Security
:wtf:

[reprobate]

9. Memorial services will be held on Sunday

Mourners will attend the services on Sunday for the United States of America, which died January 20, 2001. While the patient had been fighting invasion by a right wing virus for more than a decade, the final blow was given by the "Coup de bush", more popularly known as "that ass with the money".

[54anickel]

10. That would be a great idea. Think you should send that off to those

Hollywood folks that were having the "Hate Bush" Party.

[0007]

12. After all FOX News and Brite Hume are the only ones with a direct line ...

to the White House.