The FCC Voted: Time to Raise Hell

[marmar]

from HuffPost:




Josh Silver
The FCC Voted: Time to Raise Hell
Posted December 18, 2007 | 01:44 PM (EST)



Today, Bush-appointed Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin rammed through a 3-2 partisan vote to remove the longstanding "newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership" ban that prohibits a local newspaper from owning TV and radio stations in the same market. Witness yet another shining moment: the Bush administration serving up a wholesale giveaway to the largest media corporations in the most corrupt process imaginable.

Let's go with that for a moment.....

Imagine that you are the Chairman of the FCC, with its congressional mandate to protect localism, diversity and the public interest. You are witnessing the wholesale consolidation of radio triggered by a bad law passed in 1996. You've seen the disappearance of over one third of independently owned television station owners and over two thirds of independently owned radio station owners since 1975. You're watching racial and ethnic minority ownership of TV and radio slip to 3% and 8% respectively. You're watching consolidated, corporate media churn out the kind of "faux-journalism" that we saw in the run-up to the war in Iraq, and that we're continuing to see on nearly every commercial television newscast: the place where 70% of Americans get their news about the nation and the world.

Imagine that under intense pressure, you begrudgingly agree to six public hearings across the country to listen to the American people so that they can guide your decision. Imagine some 99% of the people passionately implore that you not let media companies get any bigger. Imagine it's 11 p.m., you're seven hours into the hearing, and there's so many people waiting to give their two-minute testimony that you still have another two hours of testimony to go. Imagine that nearly all of the empirical data released during your deliberation shows that further consolidation damages the principles of "localism" and "diversity" that the FCC was founded in 1934 to protect. Imagine being hauled up in front of the U.S. Congress twice in the past week, only to be berated by members of both parties, imploring you not to proceed. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-silver/the-fcc-voted-time-to-ra_b_77334.html

[underpants]

1. You HAVE TO BE KIDDING

oh no you aren't its the fascists taking over

[Justitia]

2. I cannot even articulate how freaking BAD this is. A huge hit in the propaganda wars.

This MUST be stopped before the big media conglomerates swoop in for the coup de grace and all we are left with is fucking Fox News surrounding us at every turn.

[Breeze54]

3. K & R'd

:grr:

Please sign the letter to Congress now!!

Congress has the power to throw out these rules -- and if 100,000 people demand it,

they'll have to listen.

Sign the open letter to Congress urging them to stop the FCC and stand with the public interest.

Graph of signature progress: ?pi=1023&percent=1%

Help us reach our goal of 100,000 Signatures

http://action.freepress.net/campaign/sbmopenletter

[mcranor]

4. Chairman's E-Mail

Here you go, let him know what you think:

http://www.fcc.gov/commissioners/martin/mail.html

(My message)

Sir,

What a reprehensible decision you have presided over today. You may congratulate yourself on your loyalty to your masters, but as a guardian of the public interest you are an utter failure.

[monmouth]

5. Don't fund them, simple...This is disgusting..n/t

[Blue_In_AK]

6. This is so bad

that even Ted Stevens is on our side on this one. Somebody needs to slap down that little Kevin whatever his name is RIGHT NOW.