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Fcc Bury Studies On Media Consolidation

Why Did the FCC Bury Studies on Media Consolidation?

The Federal Communications Commission has ordered an investigation into why two reports that called into question media consolidation were never released to the public. Both reports have come to light in just the last week. A former FCC lawyer says top agency officials ordered staff to destroy every last copy of one of the studies.
Ref. https://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/09/20/1412251

Consolidation Media Studies Bury Fcc

First, let me say continued thanks to Democracy Now! for always being the independent news agency, willing to blow the whistle on their own industry when needed, and always reporting the truth.

Second, are we really surprised at this? The majority of news is owned by Ted Turner and Ruppert Murdock. Is it any wonder why these multi-million dollar campaign contributors would want this buried? They have huge powerful lobbys that made sure this wouldn't be shown to the world. They made sure their empires could continue. Is it any wonder that the two biggest and most watched news agencies are also the most ludicrously biased? I believe CNN says "News as it happens" and Fox says "Fair and Balanced" and no one who has any sense of free thought or unbiased opinion can possibly thing that the news gets reports just as it happens, facts only, or that Fox comes close to fair and balanced! The consolidation of media is allowing for the death of real reporting, and the extinguishing of free flowing information about what happens. Our media is supposed to be a check to the government so that they cannot get away with secret stuff against us, but that is slowly fading away.

This buried report would have told us what each of you knows if you think about it long and hard. The media outlets are in bed with the powers that be and have no intention of doing anything past what they are allowed to do, because its not about news, its about money. That report would have told us that the consolidation of media inhibits media freedom, reducing it to what ever the media moguls and the politicians they are in bed with want to get out. Real media coverage that would have uncovered a multitude of scandals during the last two elections, independent media was the only ones that covered it. Fox didn't say a word about Bush's indiscretions, CNN barely mentioned Gore and Kerry's indiscretions, but the independent media outlets like democracy now unleashed the news that there were ballots being left out that shouldn't have been. They aired the stories with hard core proof that there was cheating being done, more by one person in both elections than the others. It was obvious to anyone looking at the videos of it happening and the other evidence, but were was Fox and CNN during all this? Doing nothing because they wanted to be on the good side of who ever won the election.

Media consolidation promotes corruption and further removes us from the democracy we love. Without the media to protect us from government scandal, who will keep them in check? When one occassionally learns about an illegal government operation, they get lambasted for it and called traitors even though they sat on the story for a whole year! Media consolidation promotes corruption, fear, and big brotherism, and it should be considered criminal that these reports that likely should that were destroyed.

Fcc Bury Studies On Media Consolidation History & Civil Business Politics

Totally agree with you Konq. Democracy Now isn't just an independent voice, it also provides an alternative voice by daring to report what the mainstream won't touch. This is vital in a democracy.

Unfortunately, with big media companies like Fox and Turner's, ratings often dictate editorial policy. This is not the way the media should work.

Large news networks like Fox news (which really isn't news), NBC and CBS take a populist stand. They are interested in drumming up war because they know wars rate very highly. They also don't want to be seen as unpatriotic. This is a major problem with the US media.

The media SHOULD and MUST question government policy. It doesn't mater whether a republican or democratic government is in power. Pursuit of the truth must always come first, entertainment a distant last.

There are a few voices on this forum that label the US media as left-wing. My perception is quite the opposite. The US media follows what they believe is a popular stand. Now that Iraq has become such a disaster you are seeing some major newspapers, including the Washington Post and NYT, change their stand on the war. Before Iraq happened both of those outlets were very supportive of invading Iraq.

Consolidation should be punished. There needs to be more accountability.

Consolidation Media Studies Bury Fcc

Is it any surprise that Bill Gates marketed a product and then was forced to break up microsoft under the label of a monopoly but the main outlet of information to the public at large is being consolidated. What about Ma Bell? Forced to be split up but now AT&T is trying to buy BellSouth. Wasn't AT&T named in the wiretapping lawsuits as a company that helped the National Security Agency? I guess that the definition of monopoly is contingent on who you provide campaign finances to.

Consolidation Media Studies Bury Fcc

The worst part about the consolidation of media is that ridiculous claims go unchallenged in the media. When there is a major story about a conservative in the news, it is soften and padded by right-wing fraudsters who immediately point blame at liberals. But there is no one who will argue this point. If a republican commits a crime, how is it the liberals fault? But the media fraudsters such as Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, and Shawn Hannity continue to throw every single problem at the feet of the minority party with no one else in the news to counter act it. In a real non-biased media, Rush Limbaugh could not get away with saying that a bill is not being passed due to the democrats when the republicans are the majority in house, senate, supreme court, and presidents office! Media consolidation has allowed the most ridiculous claims to be made by faker journalists and none of it gets challenged. It really appalling that such an obviously right wing media can even be called liberal or leftist when I can name a dozen top listened too right wingers, but struggle naming a few left wingers. But in a consolidated media, there is no balance to the majority party represented in media, its all one sided.