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TO THE FCC and CONGRESS
Take Action! [**] <<== CLICK HERE And for more action ==>HERE
The FCC must not further deregulate the air waves. It is bad enough that the public airwaves are controlled by conglomerations already, that should be remedied. But to allow the expanded ownership by the print media should be prohibited. The whole purpose of the FCC should be to regulate something that is supposed to be free, but is limited. It turns out to be quite profitable, and the print media is not on hard times, except for the competition which arises from the same conglomeration. If these cannot be regulated to be serving the public good, then they should be making a profit for the public good.
This is not just an economic issue, it is a power issue. You will use yours for good, or you will use it for power and profit. If it is the latter, you should have neither.
I was not going to make a major production out of this, and I suppose I could have included of few statistics rather than just seemingly pull this out of the air waves, but here is an example I stumbled upon today. In doing a background check (google) on Joseph Stiglitz, "Making Globalization Work",
I came across a review in my local paper by Bruce Ramsey and embedded in that piece is the following:
His book is flavored with a deep distaste for inequality. "Those who are concerned about inequality see much of it arising out of luck -- the luck of being born with good genes or rich parents or the luck of buying a piece of real estate at the right time," he writes. "Those who are less concerned feel that wealth is a reward for hard work."
It is, of course, a combination of the two. Free-traders would give freer rein to luck in order to maximize overall economic gain. Stiglitz would not.
While this may seem "fair and balanced" [*], or at least I feel that Ramsey believes he is being so, his conclusion is slanted to the freeing up of the luck, after admitting it is a combination of the two. You, ladies and gentlemen, should be working hard to make sure not only hard work is rewarded, but that you are not making it easier for those getting something for free (the air waves) while making it harder work and harder luck to compete.
[Update: A New Optimism - -A New Pre-emption - - An old Foundation]
[Update: Pre-Empting Crimes ]
[*] And not in the FOX way, but here is a fairly powerful and balanced take on the media and democracy: The Proper Imbalance ]
[**] SEE COMMENT regarding Senate Bill 2332, the "The Media Ownership Act of 2007.
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[[ I embedded a version of my post in the message found in the first link (and Congress) which contained the following text at StopBigMedia.com PLEASE GO THERE AND CONGRESS TAKE ACTION! ]]
I am writing to urge you to support S 2332, the "The Media Ownership Act of 2007." [[ ... ]]
This legislation will ensure that the Federal Communications Commission addresses the dismal state of female and minority ownership before changing any rules to unleash more media concentration.
Nearly 99 percent of the public comments received by the FCC oppose changing the nation's media ownership rules to allow a handful of large conglomerates to swallow up more local media outlets. Congress rejected the same changes to the rules in 2003. Yet the FCC is still pushing a plan to overhaul the rules by the end of the year.
This legislation would mandate that the FCC give the public 90 days' notice before holding a vote on new rules to ensure a full public accounting of the impact of media consolidation before changing the ownership limits. These steps are necessary to preserve diverse local media that meets the needs of our communities.
Diversity is the cornerstone of a democratic media system. Yet research by Free Press found that that while minorities make up 33 percent of the U.S. population, they own less than 8 percent of radio stations and 3 percent of TV stations.
This legislation would create an independent task force to address the crisis in minority media ownership.
Our democracy requires the free flow of local information from diverse voices. Please support the "The Media Ownership Act of 2007."
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