[This] is a continuing purposeful attempt by Republicans to monopolize the information We the People get over our own airwaves with alt right propaganda. It is also an attempt by the Trump administration to gut our regulatory framework. Of all of those attempts, this is the most dangerous. Once these companies buy up all the stations, the genie is out of the bottle and cannot be put back.

::::::::

My guest today is Sue Wilson of Media Action Center. Welcome back to OpEdNews, Sue.

Joan Brunwasser: It's been a while since we've talked. How have things been going with the people-taking-back-the-media department?

Sue Wilson: We are under siege, Joan. The Trump DOJ is threatening to block the AT&T Time Warner merger, a good thing, but for the wrong reason: they want to take CNN off the air so the news org cannot criticize Donald Trump. And in my bailiwick, broadcast consolidation, the FCC is undoing all the good we've achieved over the past several years, and will vote November 16 - without any public comment - to allow the newspaper and nearly every TV station in our local communities to have one corporate owner. One newsroom will be able to force feed us whatever information they want us to hear, and keep us in the dark about information they do not want us to know. The democracy is literally at stake right now, so I've come out of retirement to sound the alarm!

JB: Let's give our readers some background here, Sue. Media consolidation has been going on for some time, hasn't it? How did that happen and how much worse have things gotten?

SW: Let's go back to the beginning, to the days when radio was new and magically came into our homes with a push of a button. Pioneer broadcasters understood the power of such a medium, that it could be used for good or ill, and so they voluntarily came up with caps on how many stations one person could own. Congress thought that was a such good idea, they ensconced it into law. In those days, one person could own just three TV stations, three AM radio stations, and three FM radio stations. Those caps later increased to what was known as the rule of seven - seven TV stations, seven AM and seven FM radio stations. When Ronald Reagan came into office, those caps were loosened so a person could own 20 TV, AM and FM stations.

It was also Ronald Reagan's administration that got rid of the rule that both sides could access the broadcast microphones to discuss controversial issues (the Fairness Doctrine). That changed the political landscape, because Rush Limbaugh began a one-sided, pro-Republican daily tirade that helped Republicans so much, they made him an honorary member of Congress.

Learning that one-sided radio would help them win elections, the GOP drafted a new law, the 1996 Telecommunications Act, allowing one person (corporation) to own as many radio stations nationwide as they could own, and as many as eight in one market, which Bill Clinton signed into law (a decision he regrets). Despite promises from the radio industry that it would provide more opportunities for diverse programming, it instead programmed all right-wing radio all the time all over the country, creating a monopoly on political information in the USA.

The rules on television ownership in the US have been more strict. There is no cap on the number of TV stations a single company may own nationwide, but they may not collectively reach more than 39 percent of all U.S. TV households. Locally, a company may own two TV stations in the same town, as long as one of the stations is not ranked among the top four stations, and as long as at there would be at least eight independently owned TV stations in the market. Plus, there is a rule against owning both the newspaper and the TV station in the same market.

But those rules are about to change on November 16, when the GOP majority FCC Commissioners will vote to allow newspaper/TV cross-ownership, eliminate the "eight voices test," and give themselves the power to waive the "top four" rule. In addition, they will vote to permit Joint Services Agreements so one station may run other stations without owning them. Free Press' Craig Aaron says, "So in theory one station could own say three or even four stations outright (say two major affiliates with a waiver plus two smaller ones), run two others thru sharing agreements and also own the newspaper and maybe the news radio station."

Attorney Harold Feld, Senior VP for Public Knowledge says the new rules could pave the way for one corporation to own every TV station in one town. "There is no formal rule against it. The FCC will decide the matter on a 'case by case' basis. When something goes from 'totally against the rules' to 'OK if we say it's OK,' we describe this as 'permitting.'"

In a separate vote, the FCC will raise the cap of national ownership to accommodate Sinclair Broadcasting's desire to reach 72% of the nation with its right-wing propaganda.

What we are seeing is a continuing purposeful attempt by Republicans to monopolize the information We the People get over our own airwaves with alt right propaganda. It is also an attempt by the Trump administration to gut our regulatory framework, which we see in many areas of government. Of all of those attempts, this attack on our freedom of information is the most dangerous. Once these companies buy up all the stations, the genie is out of the bottle and cannot be put back.

JB: Yikes! Thanks for filling us in, Sue. But I must say this is very bad news. Are We the People totally powerless to push back? What can we do? There's not much time. Quick: Tell us!

SW: The last time the FCC tried to do something similar, three million people contacted the FCC and said no! We need to contact them again and say no; the more people who weigh in, the more clout We the People have. But the FCC will probably vote it in anyway, as the Republicans have a majority and have wanted to do this for years. At that point, Free Press has promised to file a lawsuit to stop it; they have been successful in the past (public sentiment helps their effort as well). But the long term solution is to get Congress to pass a law which will protect diverse ownership in media. That means not only contacting your Congresspersons in the Senate and the House of Representatives, but it also means educating them as to why this is so important.

So write, call, support the anticipated Free Press lawsuit, (I have postedlinksto all the above to make it easy for folks) and share this information widely. The broadcast airwaves are legally supposed to serve the public interest. We the People must stand up to defend what is ours, or it will be lost forever!

JB: Thanks so much for filling us in on these disturbing developments, Sue. There's so much at stake. Okay, readers: November 16th is fast approaching; you know what you need to do!

***

Sue's made it easy for you with a sample email protest, complete with websites and email addresses, and phone numbers and a sample message for your members of Congress.

From Sue's website:
Here's how we MUST ACT:

1. EMAIL the FCC Commissioners! Tell them:

I oppose further consolidation of broadcast media and rules allowing the newspaper/ TV cross ownership. Empowering just one corporation to dictate the news and information we receive in my community may be good for business, but bottom line, it will destroy democracy. Vote NO for more consolidation!

Ajit Pai, Chairman

Ajit.Pai@fcc.gov

Mignon Clyburn, Commissioner

Mignon.Clyburn@fcc.gov

Michael O'Rielly, Commissioner

Mike.O'Rielly@fcc.gov

Brendan Carr, Commissioner

Brendan.Carr@fcc.gov

Jessica Rosenworcel, Commissioner

Jessica.Rosenworcel@fcc.gov

2. Call and WRITE YOUR CONGRESSPERSON! The FCC sets rules, but Congress makes the law. Let them know your displeasure and that for the sake of the Democracy, they must act to diversify media!

Find them here: https://www.contactingcongress.org/

3. Our friends at Free Press promise to file a lawsuit to stop this. Begin supporting their effort by signing this petition, which will put you on their email list for updates. They'll need your help.

http://act.freepress.net/sign/consol_pai_ownership/

There are so many ways our Democracy is currently being undermined, but allowing quasi-political forces to singularly control the message to hundreds of millions of people is the MOST dangerous. Please act now - for the sake of our country.

Thank you.

***

my past interviews with Sue:

Sue Wilson Outlines Citizen Action to Take Back Our Public Airwaves4.4.2014

On the Road with Sue Wilson and "Broadcast Blues"3/31/2011

Documentary Filmmaker Sue Wilson's Got the "Broadcast Blues"3/17/2010

Part two of my interview with Sue 3/18/2010

Authors Website: http://www.opednews.com/author/author79.html

Authors Bio:

Joan Brunwasser is a co-founder of Citizens for Election Reform (CER) which since 2005 existed for the sole purpose of raising the public awareness of the critical need for election reform. Our goal: to restore fair, accurate, transparent, secure elections where votes are cast in private and counted in public. Because the problems with electronic (computerized) voting systems include a lack of transparency and the ability to accurately check and authenticate the vote cast, these systems can alter election results and therefore are simply antithetical to democratic principles and functioning.



Since the pivotal 2004 Presidential election, Joan has come to see the connection between a broken election system, a dysfunctional, corporate media and a total lack of campaign finance reform. This has led her to enlarge the parameters of her writing to include interviews with whistle-blowers and articulate others who give a view quite different from that presented by the mainstream media. She also turns the spotlight on activists and ordinary folks who are striving to make a difference, to clean up and improve their corner of the world. By focusing on these intrepid individuals, she gives hope and inspiration to those who might otherwise be turned off and alienated. She also interviews people in the arts in all their variations - authors, journalists, filmmakers, actors, playwrights, and artists. Why? The bottom line: without art and inspiration, we lose one of the best parts of ourselves. And we're all in this together. If Joan can keep even one of her fellow citizens going another day, she considers her job well done.


When Joan hit one million page views, OEN Managing Editor, Meryl Ann Butler interviewed her, turning interviewer briefly into interviewee. Read the interview here.

While the news is often quite depressing, Joan nevertheless strives to maintain her mantra: "Grab life now in an exuberant embrace!"


Joan has been Election Integrity Editor for OpEdNews since December, 2005. Her articles also appear at Huffington Post, RepublicMedia.TV and Scoop.co.nz.