Save Access

The airwaves belong to all of us. Broadcasters don’t pay a cent for their use of this valuable public resource. They are required to do only one thing in return: help fulfill the news and information needs of the communities in which they broadcast. But here's where things get tricky. Just a handful of media corporations own almost all of our local media outlets. Our TV and radio stations used to be mom-and-pop operations, but over the years that diverse, locally responsive media system has been reduced to a few mega conglomerates that control the vast majority of what we read, see and hear in the media. For decades these corporations have had a dramatic influence at the Federal Communications Commission, which has made policy that serves corporate needs rather than the public interest. There are all sorts of benefits to a competitive media landscape. The more independent outlets a community has, the more different viewpoints will be presented on the air. But what happens when there’s no one to compete with? When one company owns everything in your town, it can cut staff and not worry about getting scooped by a competitor. The fewer reporters there are on the streets, the less journalism there is on the news. The fewer DJs there are at your local radio station, the more automated computers and pre-programmed playlists take over. The FCC sets limits on how much of your local media one company can own. These limits are designed to encourage stations to compete with one another to provide quality journalism. To preserve the benefits of competition, the FCC should not allow one company to own broadcast outlets and the major daily newspaper in the same town. The FCC should also recognize that one company controlling multiple stations is the same as one company owning multiple stations. Our ownership chart reveals exactly who owns what. It’s time to change what’s wrong with this picture.

URL

http://www.freepress.net/media-consolidation

Last update

3 years 46 weeks ago