When Fox News Brags.....and the FCC

From the Center For Public Integrity:

"Technology has created a chessboard of corporate and government interests in telecommunications and media. The players battle it out in Congress, at the Federal Communications Commission and in state houses. The "Well Connected" Project tracks this inside influence game."

When Fox News brags about being the number one news outlet in America, they aren't joking. But is the reason for this their being more popular and better than other news outlets or are there more underlying reasons? Where I live, two of the three major news broadcasters are owned by Rupert Murdoch. KION was purchased years ago and we all know who owns FOX News. In fact the same anchors on FOX News are also on KION. The third station is owned by Hearst/Argyle.

Now lets move to radio. Clearchannel owns and controls more than 30% of all radio broadcasting in this country. Guess who owns clearchannel? Guess who also owns America's largest sattelite dish company, Direct TV? If you said Rupert Murdoch, you are right! Now this guy owns the Wall Street Journal! How long will it be before he owns everything? Perhaps not too long with the FCC as an ally!

The FCC, first under the reigns of Michael Powell, Colin Powell's son, had been doing all they could to make it easier for giant corporations like Clearchannel to gobble up independently owned media. This trend continues with today's current and Bush appointed chairman, Kevin J. Martin who is married to Cathie Martin, former communications director for Vice President Dick Cheney and currently a member of President George W. Bush's communications staff.

As we recall, the media was a major ally in promoting the war on Iraq. In fact clearchannel actually staged pro war picnics and rallies to make it seem as though every average citizen was completely behind the war, even while inspectors on the ground in Iraq were thus far unable to substantiate anything being piped in by the White House.

We haven't even begun to touch on internet availability. We should be joining our brothers and sisters at the Electronic Frontier Foundation to insure a safe and free internet.

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Our very basis in truth and the ability to get this truth out is threatened by the FCC and the giant corporations who influence them. Indeed when we take a look at these communications corporations, what we see is a major link to the defense industry or in other words, the MIC(Military Industrial Complex). Either that or a complete alliance and cooperation with the neocon right. http://www.publicintegrity.org/telecom/rank.aspx?act=industry

Of all the top TV and radio broadcasters we look at in this country, FOX News Network is the largest in TV and Clearchannel is the largest in radio broadcasting.

We all know that Rupert Murdoch is a major mouthpiece for the Bush administration. We also know that his cronies like Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity and others have actually taken anyone who has spoken out or was willing to speak out against this administration or the war in Iraq and labeled them publicly as bad Americans. They are literally the truth police, making sure the “truth”is only the version of it they see fit, while any other truth is sidelined as unAmerican. These are the people who own our media. These are the people who helped to launch us into a war on false pretense. These are also the people who tell us to stay in line or else! These same people walk hand in hand with the Bush administration, whom we are finally seeing as who and what they trully are. No doubt this would have happened sooner had there been more independent broadcasters out there!

It's time for America to wake up and take back the airwaves that rightfully belong to us, not a handful of corporate, pro-war neocons. The FCC has become a farcical reminder that any media or for that matter, any right can be easily manipulated into the exact opposite, especially if that media is owned and controlled by a few of their buddies.

Shame on the FCC and shame on this administration for lying to us and for attempting to make that lie permanent! Also check out how many elected officials receive campaign contributions from these media thieves and scratch your head in wonderment as to why we are forced to battle for the truth on practically every level.

It's time to take action and stop media consolidation before it's too late!

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