(guest blogged by Bill W.)
Four years ago, without public input, the FCC rolled back 30 yr old rules that limited a single company’s ability to be able to dominate local TV, newspaper and radio media markets. Thankfully, the rules changes triggered a massive public response and through legislation and lawsuit, they were defeated. Now FCC chair Kevin Martin is attempting to do it again by trying to push through a similar set of changes allowing further media consolidation as soon as December 18. This time, we needn’t wait until we have been sandbagged. You can help by contacting Congress and the FCC now to stop Kevin Martin before he gets away with slipping this one by us.
Bill Moyers then goes one further and focuses on one glaring example of how our media is already failing us today:
BILL MOYERS: It’s important who owns the press, as we’ve just seen and heard…but it’s also important who decides what is news.
Why wasn’t it news last weekend when more than 100,000 people turned out in 11 cities across the country to protest the occupation of Iraq … but if you blinked while watching the national news, you wouldn’t have known it was a story? …(transcript)
It’s no wonder why groups like Code Pink must go to such lengths to make sure the overwhelming voice of public opinion against the war isn’t ignored entirely. Thankfully we at least still have Bill Moyers to help make sure that doesn’t happen. As always you can watch the full episodes on the PBS website.
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