-- being the most secretive administration in US history by issuing presidential Executive Order 13233 on November 1, 2001; this order violated the 1978 Presidential Records Act and the 1974 Freedom of Information Act. It also violated the Supreme Court's 1977 decision in Nixon v. Administrator of General Services on "executive privilege" eroding over time (12 years set as a limit) and James Madison's 1822 warning that "A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or perhaps both;" and
-- establishing an obscene level of friendly ties to the corporate media to be sure never (or hardly ever) is heard a discouraging word from them on administration policies no matter how outrageous or illegal they are.
These and other acts corrupt a free press, millions know it, and they want change. Central to it is an emerging "classic struggle" very much in play but with no certain outcome over the most important issue of all - the future of the Internet and battle for Net Neutrality. That fight must be won, doing it is daunting, and the opposition is powerful media and other monied interests with friends in high places matched against others supporting the public. McChesney calls Net Neutrality "a defining issue for this critical juncture (and) the First Amendment for the Internet." Media reform activists have drawn a line in the sand. This corporate-free and open space must be defended at all costs. The stakes are that high.
Here's where things now stand. In the late 1990s, cable companies weren't able to get the Clinton FCC to exempt their Internet access from the principles of neutrality. They also lost in court in 2000, but things changed after George Bush took office and appointed Michael Powell FCC head. His Republican commission brazenly redefined cable modem service by calling it an "information service." As a result, they simply exempted cable broadband from the provisions of the 1996 Telecommunications Act.
Consumers and competitors then sued, three years of litigation followed, and in summer 2005 the Supreme Court decided for FCC and the cable giants in National Cable & Telecommunications Assn. v. Brand X Internet Services, so it's now for Congress to address.
After FCC's ruling in 2005, cable modem and telephone DSL broadband service became exempted from net neutrality provisions of the 1996 Act. Only Congress can reverse this, and that's where things now stand. This issue is "the great rallying cry for the media reform movement in 2006 and 2007." Free Press took the lead and formed the SavetheInternet.com coalition that now includes over 800 organizations across the political spectrum united in a common aim. It's an unprecedented effort in the crucial battle ahead, and it's getting results.
In 2006, it derailed telecom legislation the industry tried to ramrod through Congress. It got the democratic FCC members to insist Net Neutrality be a condition of any telecom company merger. They, in turn, got AT&T to agree to these terms when it bought Bell South for $67 billion at end of 2006. Explicit in the deal was Net Neutrality protection for two years.
The battle is back in Congress for a binding solution, not just a staying action to buy time. Senators Byron Dorgan (Democrat) and Olympia Snowe (Republican) reintroduced their bipartisan legislation to make Net Neutrality the law of the land in 2007. House Democrat, Ed Markey, is on-board as well as head of the key subcommittee on telecom legislation. These are positive developments, but the battle remains unresolved so far, and McChesney says we're "entering unchartered waters." In addition, the Republican FCC continues to carry water for the telecom giants and ruled in late December to approve greater media consolidation despite overwhelming public opposition supported by key members of Congress.
Media reform is bipartisan, progressive and goes hand-in-hand with "reform work on campaign finance, voting rights, and electoral systems reform" as part of an all-embracing "democracy movement." The effort itself has "four distinct segments (with) common (uniting) interests" that have made the US the global media reform leader:
-- media policy activism from groups like Free Press (with its growing 400,000 membership) and others that focus on core issues;
-- a growing independent and alternative media revolutionary digital technologies make possible;
-- a growing amount of media criticism from groups like FAIR and others; and
-- trade union and association organizing by independent media owners, creative and communication workers, and journalists to protect their jobs.
Nonetheless, the most formidable barrier to media reform is its opposition - primarily corporate wealth, influence and determination to stop it, and the public be damned. This affects the academy that's so dependent on corporate funding for communication programs that only want industry-friendly research. McChesney cites the need for credible basic, applied and all other kinds, but so far results have been disappointing. That has to change in at least eight areas he lists that include:
-- the policymaking process,
-- a market and media critique to counter dismissive championing of "free market" majesty,
I am a 72 year old, retired, progressive small businessman concerned about all the major national and world issues, committed to speak out and write about them.
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