Why do you think Bush adminstration prefers to see a few companies control mass media?

It's hard not to see this consolidation of media as a threat. In the old Soviet Union there were only two major newspapers...Tass and Trud...News and Truth, both owned by the government. As the russians said, there was no news in Tass and no truth in Trud. Here in the states the 'government' doesn't have a direct hand in 'the media', but as time goes on much of the 'media' has developed a love affair with 'the government'....particularly the Republican party. As much as the right wing talk show guys complain about the 'liberal' media, in real life there ain't no such a thing. CBS, ABC and NBC each have a 30 minute 'news' program....14 minutes of it is devoted to commercials...seven to eight minutes is devoted to 'fluff' or 'human interest' stories and a few minutes of national 'news'...if that 'news' has video. There is NO editorial....there used to be, but that went away years ago. Newspapers do have an editorial page or two, but usually has six to eight pages for sports and almost all of the 'news' is word for word what you read on the internet. It's not so much that the 'news' is slanted, it's that there IS no news. You'll search in vain for anything revealing about Iraq or corporate 'crime in the suites'. What 'we the people' will get is right wing radio 24/7 along with much of the same in the 'newspapers' by the same people that now bring you right wing radio. Worry about this, or....just read the sports section and let the reactionaries, the near nazis and the fascisti 'republicans' deal out their propaganda. But of course this isn't happening....and we're not in the middle east because of the oil either! Bet me!

I think that most folks who remember what TV and radio were like back before DEregulation would agree that not only news covereage and journalism, but the quality of programming in general was superior to what we have today. IMO, it's way past time for some UNderegulation.

If it's "liberal media" that ended the Viet Nam bloodbath, that brought down Witch Hunt McCarthy, then I say let's have a lot more "liberal media" programming.

Not only the White House but the Congress and the lobbyists, all of them, and if you read the role that the FCC has had in this it would curl your hair.

It is a backburner issue within the media itself. They rarely roll that issue out to make comments. And why would they? This is not the place to write an update on FCC management. It makes me sick at the stomach. I have followed this enough to have a good understanding how bad this is. Media Watch blog and others discuss it but it is taboo, essentially, by the very ones who benefit and pushed with their lobbyists to consolidate media. The opposite of what was admired in USA 20 or so years ago. It is in the hands of the right people now, or the ones who have direct strings in Congress and the White house. They agree on one thing, the media is too important to be left to chance.

Yes.

What you are suggesting, I guess: Is that the Powerful Government come in and shut down Talk Radio.

That way, the Liberals and the Hate America News Media would own ALL the Media.

Bush has been standing up for Freedom of ALL the press.

Democrats just want their own people to have Freedom.

That's just the way Democrats are.

Get used to it.

(Note ***** "Jam_Til_" has the Perfect Answer. Good work.)

I think it has more to do with the consolidation of firms due to globalization of capital and the economy

Hmm, let's see. Disney, CBS, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, GE, Time-Warner, and Newscorp. And that's just network. Locally, Hurst-Argyle, Sinclair Broadcasting, and I don't remember who owns the ABC and NBC affliates. We also have an independent news broadcast on a My TV station. Also, BBC on Iowa Public TV. And that's just on TV.

How many more do you want?

Maybe you should get off your butt, get an FCC license to broadcast, and build up a TV station. Or, buy an off-set printing press, and start a newspaper. That doesn't take a license at all!!

It's there for the taking. Grab on, or shut your yap.

Two reasons. It is part of their original one party agenda to control public opinion, and it is part of their overall support of monopolies and oligopolies.

source? link?

Because that is what fascists do.

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