HOW CORPORATE MEDIA KEEP US DUMB
On August 17, 1998, President Clinton went on national TV to admit having an "inappropriate relationship" with Monica Lewinsky. This admission climaxed, though did not end, the Big Story, a political ploy that has lasted for seven months-making our media an international laughing stock and keeping Americans distracted from serious issues and legislation. Is this the result of the new control of our media enacted with the Telecommunications Act of 1996? Doesn't the public deserve more in-depth, complete information?
The Telecommunications Act was dreamed up in a closed-door meeting by representatives of big corporations collaborating with Republican congressmen who headed communications committees. No Democrats were invited. No consumer advocates were invited. But CEOs and Chairmen of the Board of the biggest companies--Time-Warner, Murdock, Turner, etc.--were there. Reporters outside said, "We've never seen so much media power in one room."
Some of these companies had wrangled over legislation in the past, but at this meeting, every concern of the telecommunications industry was satisfied: the phone companies were given something, broadcasters were given something, cable operators were given something-until the establishment media got what they wanted.
Jeff Cohen of Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR), points out that one company can now own every radio station in the country. One company can own up to 35% of all U.S. TV stations. In any single city, one company can own the newspapers, the radio stations, television stations, and perhaps even the cable system that reaches that city. Furthermore, these Biggies now own shares in each other's corporations and cooperate in delivering the news. Got the world on a string! To control what Americans know and to limit their viewpoints to the corporate line is real power. And they only had to bribe congressmen to do it.
It wasn't that way in the old days. Before the big corporate mergers began in the mid 1980s, we had anti-trust laws. ABC was started in the mid-forties as a split off from NBC because NBC was too big and violated the anti-trust laws. At one time, the movie studios were forced to divest themselves of their studio-owned movie theaters because that ownership would prevent independent films from being shown.
Until Reagan hit the scene, we also had the "fairness doctrine." Under this doctrine, any station that aired only a single viewpoint and did not allow a broad spectrum of information was putting its license at risk. The Fairness doctrine did not mandate equal time, just some coverage of a divergent viewpoint. It was most important during elections when many candidates needed TV or radio coverage or when referendums were on the ballot that the public should hear about.
We also had regulations that prohibited a newspaper and a TV station in the same area from being owned by one corporation or individual, and that limited the number of media sources owned by one individual or corporation. Now all such laws are gone.
Radio and TV have evolved a long way from the original intent. By law, the airways belong to the people. That law is ignored today. Corporations get this billion dollar airtime for absolutely nothing. It's the biggest government subsidy of all time. Stations buy each other out in media takeovers that cost multimillions of dollars in stock and cash until we have what is virtually a single media, a single corporate view across the TV channels and across almost the entire radio dial.
When elections roll around, we are led down the media path into a New World Order cattle pen to vote the wrong way for the wrong person or proposition. We never hear the other side because corporations are accountable to no one and offer no recourse. Citizens must find their own way to get information outside of the corporate domain.
What to do? Get another viewpoint by seeking out listener-supported Pacifica Radio stations, reading alternative journals, viewing PBS Television, and exploring books published by alternative presses. Now Internet provides an unlimited source of diverse viewpoints and information. There is no limit to the knowledge available if you're willing to search for it.