Slashdot Mirror
FCC Ignores Public, Relaxes Media Ownership
anthrax writes "Ignoring Congressional and public comments, the FCC voted to relax ownership rules that have prevented broadcasters from owning newspapers in the nation's 20 largest media markets. After holding several public hearings that overwhelmingly opposed the relaxation of the rules, and Congressional hearing where Democrats and Republicans (even Ted 'Tubes' Stevens) voiced opposition to the move, the FCC voted 3 to 2 to relax ownership. On the same day the FCC voted 3 to 2 (by a different split) to cap the size of any cable company at 30% of the nationwide market, a limit Comcast is up against."
Unelected FCC commissioners making decisions that will have a huge impact on the future of communications in this country... I'm sure this is exactly what the founding fathers had in mind when they drafted the Constitution.
If you had super powers, would you use them for good, or for awesome?
Why does the FCC not do what it is supposed to do, regulating who can use what bands of airwaves, but is quite happy to throw a bunch of unconstitutional fines around for exposing a "forbidden" section of epidermis or saying a "forbidden" word if they don't like the show?
If I have nothing to hide, don't search me
I have karma to burn so feel free to send this to offtopic land, but can we just get a sitewide ban on these lame spam links please? 3 or 4 in this thread alone!
Spam - don't follow the link
"Would you, could you, with a goat?" Dr Seuss
Maybe so. But the rest of the masses will be reading print versions of the drek that appears on Fox News -- or alternately, the drek that is Wolf Blitzer and Lou Dobbs on CNN. People who want real news will have to seek out the print version of "The Daily Show."
!#@%*)anks for hanging up the phone, dear.
Why would the founders be appalled by the office of FCC commissioner?
Because the founders also wrote in, a free press. Having three giant corporations controlling all of mass media isn't free. That's why there were ever restrictions on how many newspapers or radio stations or television channel any one company could own. Whatever size chuck of the media one group controls, it is that same size chunk of the electorate that they can spin towards the candidate of their choosing. Imagine if we only had Fox News, or only had Air America. You can see how that might give one company undue influence. Just look at what happened to the quality of pop music since ClearChannel has be allowed to take over radio stations all over the country. Now apply that to the quality (and pay for play) of all of the news that mainstream America gets.
We are all just people.
When Bush was "selected" back in November 2000, all of my friends were very depressed, moping around saying "Our country's progress has just been turned back 25 years."
I guess it's at least 32 years now.
Jory
Because the founders also wrote in, a free press. Having three giant corporations controlling all of mass media isn't free.
Yeah, they would be appalled. Appalled that people turned to gov't instead of opening their own printing press.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo.
What happens when the FCC allows bandwidth providers like Verizon to start filtering the content that crosses their networks? Where will we turn when the Internet in the US is censored by corporate interests (like Murdoch) instead of allowing the free exchange of ideas? Then where the public go for news and information? The further consolidation of how and where information is gather, disseminated and filtered will have a massive negative impact for all Americans. There is but one law that stands the test of time, the law of unintended consequences. It could have been worse, some on the FCC panel wanted to go much further, but this is still a bad move.
Hey I'm all about the news. My childhood heroes weren't astronauts or generals. They were journalists. The free press is our first line of defense against everything from abusive Government officials/policies to corporations poisoning our natural resources. I can think of few things more important then ensuring an independent media, beholden to nobody (Government OR Corporate) with a mandate to inform the public.
That said, I've grown extremely weary of the 24 hour news cycle. Anchors that talk to each other so they can make the story they've already run ten times sound fresh. "Experts" with agendas. Shows like Crossfire that boil the most complex of issues down into two extremist points of view and call it "debate".... over here on my left I have "aging hippie liberal douche" while over here on the right I have "pissed off white trash redneck conservative".
All of the above annoys me. But I get downright pissed off when I think of the priorities of the 24 hour news cycle. Like endless coverage of the court battles related to Anna Nicole Smith. Or the fucking aerial coverage of Paris Hilton reporting to jail. They have twenty four hours to fill and waste it on this garbage instead of covering the war? What the fuck is that?
To quote America (The Book):
A free and independent press is essential to the health of a functioning democracy. It serves to inform the voting public on matters relevant to its well-being. Why they've stopped doing that is a mystery. I mean, 300 camera crews outside a courthouse to see what Kobe Bryant is wearing when the judge sets his hearing date, while false information used to send our country to war goes unchecked? What the fuck happened? These spineless cowards in the press have finally gone too far. They have violated a trust. "Was the president successful in convincing the country?" Who gives a shit? Why not tell us if what he said was true?
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
You posted that comment on an internet news site. Just thought I'd point that out.
Say it ain't so!!!
I mean, they (moronic newsies, half-witted pundits, talking headjobs, etc., ad nauseum) constantly yap at us that they are giving us the "content" we demand - yet if that were truly and honestly the case, circulation would not - and continue to - drop.
Obviously, they are feeding us pure crapola (except, perhaps, for those McClatchy newspapers which are about the ONLY newspapers in America which still actually print truthful, non-propaganda articles - also, the various alternative political newspapers throughout the country such as this wonderful example).
I frankly (sorry Newty) can't understand why anyone would read any American news instead of following the more (usually) honest international news or the standard blog spots (Bradblog, Buzzcom, Thinkprogress, Commondreams, Waynemadsenreport, noquarterusa.net, liberalavenger, etc.)
It's a noble sentiment you speak, but the government here in Britain, is as corporate, as corrupt, as oligarchical and as authoritarian as the government in the USA at the moment - if not more so. Seems to be the way of democracies of late. How we can turn things round, fuck knows, but here's hoping we start addressing why things become so autoritatrian and design copper-bottomed protections against such things once we do chuck out the latest bunch of tin-pot dictators and their acolytes.
Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce
If 'liberal bias' == 'wants a free and independent press' then guilty as charged. Try as I might, I couldn't locate any examples of prominent conservative media personalities that support the principle of the free press.
don't give away everything on the first dateDon't you wish you could find out ;)
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
Older folks still read newspapers and vote in greater numbers than younger folks.
No they don't (read newspapers) - they hate today's media. By and large they have moved onlline.
All the older people I know (my family, plus other people's family) are all online. Even if they don't have a computer they just use the library - wander down to the library sometime and have a look at who is using the systems.
If old people are still reading newspapers, how come readership is dropping dramatically across the country - we've not past the bell curve of baby boomers really dying in large numbers yet.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley