Media Monopoly

The FCC and the Justice Department have just put the stamp of approval (with provisions) on the merger of Time-Warner Cable (Remember when they were two companies?) and Charter Communications.

Charter will own TWC and further consolidate corporate control over the Internet and broadband technology. This is in an age when people rely more on the Internet for services and less on traditional broadcast and print media.

The combined companies have restrictions on what they can not do – enter anti-competitive agreements for with programmer that would keep shows off of streaming services and violate Net Neutrality rules, among a few other restrictions on limiting broadband speed.

Bothering me: Net Neutrality has to be respected for seven years only. Also the limit on data cap shas that same time line.

So what happens after those seven years are up? Do the consumer lose?

The next consolidation deals with Gannett Co's (pronounced “Money”) offer to purchase Tribune Publishing for $815 million. I'm going to be honest here – Gannett publishes the USA Today. This is the blandest newspaper I have ever read. It's worse than eating white bread. (It turns into glue in my mouth and has no flavor at all. Give me whole grain any day.)

Tribune Publishing, which owns the LA Times, the Chicago Times, and other newspaper resources, is a media hub for many communities and their reporting is used in many newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, the whole spectrum of news media. This consolidation under Gannett will result in layoffs and cuts because Gannett needs to make more money for Wall Street.

This consolidation of information resources is a direct threat to American Democracy.

First we have Gannett taking over the creation of the news. Then we have Charter/TWC controlling the distribution of the news. With corporate capital controlling the manufacture and flow of information the types of news we receive will be limited to what the 1% decide the mass of people need to know.

The old joke in media criticism is “If a tree falls in the forest and the NY Times doesn't report on it, did it happen?”

From the Iraq war – did anyone know about the days of action protesting the war before it started? Many people did not even know there was opposition to the war (international at that) because the American media failed to report on it.

Media criticism is what started me on the road to being a socialist. I started seeing the limited nature of the information that we were receiving and I wanted something else, different. I found The Nation and Democracy Now for weekly and daily news. Other media followed: In These Times, The Progressive, Z Magazine, Monthly Review, Project Censored, and many others. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting was actually one of the first sites I began digging into on a daily basis.

It is also how I found about Socialist Action.

I think Thomas Jefferson said “I'd rather have newspapers without government than government without newspapers.” (Or words to that effect.)

With the corporate media grab, we are closing in on his worst fear.

Socialists (and democracy minded people) demand: No merger between Time Warner and Charter Communications.

We demand that media giants be broken up and that newspapers, TV and radio stations be put into the hands of the people in the “media markets” that they service.

To preserve democracy we need more information.

The consolidation of media will give us less information.

I was turned off of corporate media by the media's fixation on the death of some reality show personae. (All I can remember is blonde female with an ample bosom and a daughter that no one was sure who the father was.  Seriously.  That was the news focus.  And Brittany Spears not wearing panties.  Like I said,  "This is news?")

The media fixation on the death of Prince (a very talented musician) is reminding me of why I left corporate media in the first place.

That and all the Donald Trump coverage.

No serious journalism organization would (or should) be paying attention to him.

Then again, show me a serious corporate media organization.