Columnist Jamala Rogers
Remember when the U.S. government and other misguided folks used to scream about state-controlled media in other countries? Isn’t it a pity, they would say, that there is no democracy in the way media behaved in these countries” While we were looking at China, the Soviet Union and other countries, corporate America was taking over the media here.
The radio and television are publicly owned airwaves. First Amendment rights cover the speech of all people, not just those with the biggest bank accounts. We are the public. We must exercise our rights and make our concerns heard.
This week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is poised to make a major decision regarding companies being able to own daily newspapers, newspapers or radio stations in the same market. Previously, that kind of concentration by one company was not just frowned upon, it was illegal. Corporate giants like Clear Channel and Rupert Murdoch have been the beneficiaries of the FCC’s moves to “corporatize” the media.
Media monopolies have had some real friends at the FCC, with Michael Powell and now Richard Martin. Powell, the son of Colin Powell, was nominated by you all’s “first black prez,” Bill Clinton. It was also under Clinton that the 1996 Telecommunications Act was passed that got rid of long-standing limits on how many media outlets one company could own. The buying frenzy was on.
Observers and media watchdogs such as Be the Media have accused Clear Channel of “destroying localism and diversity on the airwaves.” We’ve been getting a taste of that locally when Deneen Busby was kicked to the curb last year after 15 years of service. More recently, radio personality Chaz Saunders got the boot. We also lost Lizz Brown and the Wake Up call at WGNU.
Murdoch doesn’t even try to hide his frothing-at-the-mouth brand of monopoly. Worldwide, Murdoch already has nine film companies, 12 television stations, 16 cable outlets, 19 news outlets (including the recently acquired Wall Street Journal), one publishing company and several internet companies such as MySpace. In 1999, it was discovered that his Newscorps Investments had profits over the previous 11 years but had paid no net corporation tax, which would have amounted to about $350 million. The corporation’s complex structure and off-shore accounts have abetted his tax avoidance.
To add insult to injury, these media piranhas are using us to help get them free news and eliminate paying credentialed journalists. It’s a type of outsourcing called crowd-sourcing. So when you all are sending in your cell phone pics, blogging, uploading video on You Tube, etc., you are helping to change the face of news collection. Since you don’t have control of the process, what looks like a more democratic and participatory approach will never truly benefit the public.
If we are dissatisfied with a radio or TV company, we must file a complaint. Those complaints are reviewed when its time to renew the operation’s license. You can also directly express your concerns about the way the FCC is advocating for corporate media and not citizens by going to its website.
Citizens already get a thin slice of local, national and international news. Now, the little news that we do get is being funneled through the ideological lens of the right wing.
Listeners and readers of the world, unite!