We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

FCC Moves Towards More Media Consolidation

Click here to access transcript of Bill Moyer's interview with Craig Aaron, president and CEO of Free Press
Loosening the cross-ownership rules could unleash a wave of mergers and acquisitions within the media industry, as companies seek to control newspapers, television stations, and radio stations. These combined enterprises would likely consolidate their news departments, reducing the already severely limited options for most people to get information about their communities.
It's hard to imagine that media in the US could get much worse, but it appears to be so. Quietly, behind closed doors, Obama's FCC appointee is reportedly working on a proposal to do just that. The immediate beneficiary appears to be Rupert Murdoch's media empire. 

Well, why do you think corporations finance candidates? Because they like their candidates' general views on political issues? Because they like to support the "democratic" process of elections? No, of course not. They expect their contributions to contribute to their corporations' profits. Unlike in many countries such as India where direct bribes is the method of choice, US corporations launder their bribes through a "legal" process known as campaign contributions. And US corporations by contributing to both ruling class candidates cannot lose. In this recent election Obama was the biggest beneficiary of Murdoch's money, so it stands to reason that he expects to be rewarded.