The KPOJ fiasco has raised fundamental questions of how alternative points of view can flourish in a free market. If (as the company line goes) a radio format is losing money, is there any obligation to provide a forum for that point of view? Whose obligation would it be? If someone doesn’t
like what they’re hearing and decides to “go out and buy their own damn station and program it like they want”, how possible is it? What laws can or should be written to govern the shape of our public airwaves?
One of the major forces affecting the voices we hear on-air is media consolidation. In recent years there has been a frenzy of media companies buying each other, weeding out the independents in favor of a large corporate model. As the number of companies participating in our national dialogue decreases, so does the number of opinions we hear. How bad is it? In 1983, 90% of American media was owned by 50 companies. At the end of the 1990’s just 9 companies dominated the media world. In 2001, that same 90% of media was controlled by just 6 companies. In 2004, it was down to just 5.
This month we’ll give you everything you need to get Furious (and get informed) about media consolidation. It’s not a new issue, so there’s lots of reporting already out and many organizations in place to fight it.
We’ll start with our “Picture is worth a thousand words” department, where you’ll find several powerful infographics that give many of the basics of the consolidation problem. Click any of the images below to be taken to a full-size image:
Despite their own problems with corporate funding and influence, public radio and TV consistently lead the pack in reporting on just about any issue. “NOW” with Bill Moyers has some excellent resources on media consolidation, including the Fairness Doctrine, a Media Regulation Timeline, Details of FCC rules changes, and Local and National Media Ownership.
Global Issues is a one-stop-shopping site for a wide range of societal, environmental, and governmental issues that affect us all. Their page on media consolidation has sub-pages for ownership concentration, vertical integration, freedom of the internet, and the vital problem of interlocking directorates. (One of our favorite sites to see how corporate boards are intertwined is TheyRule.net. Surf over there to see how media companies are actually structured.)
In an interview with Bill Maher on “Real Time with Real Maher”, CBS Anchor Dan Rather discusses how in a media environment owned by a handful of giant corporations, the news has become “politicized” and “trivialized.” He says the only interests that get served are those of the corporations, not those of the journalists trying to report the news, and certainly not the interests of the audience watching at home.
Free Press says that it is “…building a powerful nationwide movement to change media and technology policies, promote the public interest and strengthen democracy.” Their website has an ongoing blog, supplies tools for activism, and has an ongoing list of actions you can participate in to help promote media diversity.
What’s the solution to media consolidation? According to the FCC, the obvious solution is to relax the rules governing media ownership. FCC chair Julius Genachowski has called for a vote to “streamline and modernize media ownership rules, including eliminating outdated prohibitions on newspaper-radio and TV-radio cross-ownership.” This is breaking news, reported on Nov. 20 at Democracy Now.
Common Cause, the “…nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization for citizens to make their voices heard in the political process and to hold their elected leaders accountable to the public interest”, has established a “Media and Democracy Initiative” within their group. Check here for some of their facts on the issue, as well as links to learn more, take action, or support their work.
If movies are your thing, then there’s a documentary about the downside of media consolidation. Broadcast Blues, directed and produced by Sue Wilson, is a film you’ll definitely want to see.
Update 12/17/12– Here’s an article from the Bill Moyers website telling how one grassroots group is fighting back, successfully, against the FCC and media consolidation.
Update 12/26/12– Here’s an opinion piece from Senator Bernie Sanders on Politico about the proposed rules changes now under consideration that would further consolidate media ownership.
