![]() |
|
Tags for This Article:
Media (3123) Media Mainstream MSM (669) Media Radio (220) Media Internet-Web (146)
|
Add to My Group
Bush appointee Kevin Martin, head of the FCC, is "proposing to do away with media ownership rules that bar companies from owning both a newspaper and a television or radio station in the same city. In 2003, Kevin Martin voted with the then-FCC chairman to lift the same media ownership rules but the effort was overturned by the landmark Prometheus v. FCC decision" (Democracy Now, 2007). "Previous to his FCC job, Kevin Martin served on the Bush-Cheney transition team and was general council for Bush's 2000 Presidential campaign. His wife, Cathie Martin is a former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney - and works in the White House as a special assistant to the President for economic policy" (Democracy Now, 2005). Considering that Mr. Martin has such close ties with the Bush administration, one cannot help but wonder if this is just another attempt by Bush and Company to limit the public's access to information, as well as reward large media corporations for their cooperation in keeping information from the public. This type of information manipulation is not new. David Rockefeller expressed his appreciation for members of the mass media in their efforts to help him in his march towards a world government in 1991:
What we need is a diversity of information from media outlets that are not controlled by special interests, and not a monopoly of a few large corporations whose interests lie in reporting only government approved propaganda. A report done by the Media Information Center in 2004, "shows that only 5 huge corporations -- Time Warner, Disney, Murdoch's News Corporation, Bertelsmann of Germany, and Viacom (formerly CBS) -- now control most of the media industry in the U.S. General Electric's NBC is a close sixth." The following chart shows the startling decrease in the "number of corporations that control a majority of U.S. media" from 1983 to 2004. Kevin Martin's proposal would not only increase multi-national corporate control over what is seen and heard, but also contribute to the stifling of alternate opinion and free speech, which is so important to a viable democracy. Tell the FCC that you will not put up with further limitations of your right to information from diversified sources. Act now, before it is too late. Copyright 2007, Barbara H. Peterson
Take action -- click here to contact your local newspaper or congress people: Click here to see the most recent messages sent to congressional reps and local newspapers Barbara H. Peterson is retired from the California Department of Corrections, where she worked as a Correctional Officer at Folsom Prison. She was one of the first females to work at the facility in this classification. After retirement, she went to college online to obtain a Bachelor's degree in Business, and graduated with honors. The most valuable thing she received from her time with UOP was a realization that her life's passion is writing. Now her business degree sits in her desk drawer, and she counts herself in the category of Writer/Activist. Someday she will make money writing, but that is not why she does it. "I do it because I must. A driving force compels me to reach out to others with what I learn about the condition we the people are in, and that is what I devote my time to. After all, time is the most precious thing we have, and the older I get the more I want to use it wisely." Barbara lives on a small ranch in Oregon with her husband, where they raise geese, chickens, Navajo Churro sheep, Oggie Dog, a variety of cats, and an opinionated Macaw named Rita. She believes that self-sufficiency and localization of food sources will be necessary to survive the coming depression. To this end, she has put up a website to share information at: http://survivingthemiddleclasscrash.wordpress.com. Her philosophy is this: You are on this earth for a reason - to fight for the light. Your words are swords that penetrate the darkness with truth and light. You have a purpose.
Copyright © OpEdNews, 2002-2008 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||