Subject: [NEXTEL-1] The Great FCC Giveaway

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 15 May 2003 01:46:07 -0400

The FCC Giveaway

By Matthew Rothschild
Editor - The Progressive

May 14, 2003

The FCC is about to give the big media companies a huge present.

 The agency is proposing more deregulation, which will mean that
Rupert Murdoch and Viacom and Disney and AOL Time Warner can
concentrate their ownership of the media at even higher levels.

The networks could buy up enough local stations "to reach 90
percent of the nation's viewers," The New York Times reported.

And the major newspaper in a big city now may be able to own more
radio and TV stations, so their domination over what you see and
read will become even more ominous.

Or a major network could buy up the local metropolitan paper, as
well as three local TV stations and several radio stations.

"Nationally, it will mean the largest firms will be able to
swallow up any other media firms they set their eyes upon, and
industry observers all expect a flurry of large deals," says
mediareform.org, (http://www.mediareform.org) a new web site
founded by Robert W. McChesney. He's the author of "Rich Media,
Poor Democracy," and co-author with John Nichols of "Our Media,
Not Theirs."

(McChesney and Nichols wrote "Holding the Line at the FCC,"
(http://www.progressive.org/april03/mcc0403.html in the April
issue of The Progressive.)

"At the local level, we should expect a single firm, or perhaps
two or three firms, to own the vast majority of the media-daily
newspaper, TV stations, radio stations, cable TV system-in a
single community," the site adds. "There is enormous profit to be
made by having such monopolistic power, and firms are scrambling
to get the rules changed so they can dominate markets and crush
competition."

This move by the FCC, headed by Colin Powell's son Michael, goes
180 degrees against the mission of the agency, which is to assure
a "diversity of voices, localism, and competition."

You may not have heard much about this yet, because the huge media
companies that give you the news have a vested interest in
downplaying the story.

But this is a money grab, pure and simple.

And what is at stake is any semblance of a competitive media in
this country.

Already, so much of our news is homogenized and dumbed down and
Foxified. But if Michael Powell gets his say, it's only going to
get worse.

Yes, there are alternatives--community radio, leftwing magazines,
the Internet. And thank god for them.

But most Americans consume their news from TV, commercial radio,
and mainstream newspapers. When fewer and fewer giant corporations
own the debating forums of our society, they make a mockery of the
free exchange of ideas.

The airwaves belong to the people, not Rupert Murdoch, Clear
Channel, and their ilk.

-- Matthew Rothschild

Source: http://www.progressive.org/webex03/wx051303.html

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From: "arclight_arclight" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 00:14:49 -0000

> May 14, 2003
(snip)
> the Internet. And thank god for them.
(snip)

WARNING: The following contains a RANT.

Sure is entertaining to me that this fellow thinks that the 
only "free" alternatives are on the left.  I would remind him that 
the greatest concentration of leftist forces that ever existed (the 
former and current Marxist countries) were also the greatest 
suppressors of free speech, free press, and humanity in general.  
We're STILL waiting on an accounting of all that stupidity; we'll 
never see one in our lifetimes, of course, although the two French 
socialists who published a study of the behavior of Communist 
governments in the 20th century put the body count at 90-100 
million.  Makes Hitler look like an amateur.  

I am certain that, confronted with this, the writer would deny that 
these entities were really "leftist".  Reminds me of the time in the 
late 80s when our vaunted news commentators took to calling the old 
(fallen) Soviet government "conservative".  Anyone else remember that 
outrage?

The only reason the Marxist governments aren't as heavily condemned 
as the Nazis today is that we captured great quantities of Nazi 
records at the end of WW II, and were able to chronicle in great 
detail what the Nazis did and who they did it to (see "The Rise and 
Fall of the Third Reich" by William Shirer for a start).  We haven't 
been able to get anything like the same picture out of the old USSR, 
and of course the other Marxist countries are SURE not going to let 
us look...

Just my own thoughts, and nowhere near Nextel...

Dave Maples

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From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 19 May 2003 22:08:39 -0400

RR- (Rant Response)

Dave I think you have some very valid points.

It reminds me of the days when if your views were not that of the President you would be
declared a Communist  (Hey wait a minute what about those Dixie Chicks?) I think if some
one could tie their comments to a political agenda I think the would would have not  been
allowed back into the USA (he-he). We have free speech here but is it really free? One
member here recently spoke out against several industry related issues, as a result some
people attempted to "Black Ball" them within the industry.  That is just two examples of 2
unrelated situations that produced similar results. I for one encourage people to speak
out and exercises their right of free speech. I'm not a Left-winger, Right-winger or
Middle-winger just a citizen in the greatest country in the world......

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From: "Blake Bowers" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 09:12:42 -0500

> RR- (Rant Response)
RRR  - (Return Rant Response)

> allowed back into the USA (he-he). We have free speech here but is it
really free? One

Actually, I look at the Dixie Chicks incident as being a wonderful example
of how free speach works, and how one should wield that right with certain
considerations.

They were certainly free to say what they did, and the rest of the American
public was certainly free to say what they did.

What the Dixie Chicks (or at least one of them) failed to remember, is the
American Public can say what they want also, in many ways, such as
tractors rolling over CD's, boycotts of their music, etc.  Don't come back
with indignation because you said something, and have to suffer the
backlash.

We can say whatever we want, but be prepared for the next person to
say whatever they want.

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From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 11:22:55 -0400

Good point-

In Georgia a four star restaurant recently poured all their French wine in the
Chattahoochee river to protest the French's inaction over the Iraq war.

Revenge is sweet but pay back is a B****.

Mess with the bull you will get the horns......