Giant media monopolies hurt everyone

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), July, 2004 by Joe Saltzman

IN AN EPISODE OF "The West Wing," the fictional presidential press secretary decides to make a point about the monopolization of the news media. She says that from now on, only one representative from each corporate conglomerate will be able to attend White House press conferences. The allotted number of seats was seven. It was as telling a commentary on the news media today as ever seen on television--and it was all the more surprising since it was presented on a fictional TV drama.

The problem, though, is tar from fictional. Media ownership rules have been relaxed by the Federal Communications Commission to the point where a handful of international corporations control almost everything the American public reads, sees, and hears. Producer Steven Bochco, who created "Hill Street Blues" and "NYPD Blue," summed tip the situation in regard to censorship involving entertainment programs on network television: "We have divisions of giant companies who do staggering amounts of business with the government. Because of their size and responsibility to shareholders, they're prepared to accommodate anything rather than take on the government in ways that could cost money and damage their relationship with advertisers." Adds retired newscaster Walter Cronkite, "The gathering of more and more outlets under one owner clearly cast be an impediment to a free and independent press."

The issue of free speech and commentary on the public airwaves is one that conservatives and liberals, Republicans and Democrats, fear. Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association states: "Tell every one the airwaves belong to the American people and the FCC's job is to protect the public interest--not big media barons who want a monopoly on public discourse.'" Moreover, says columnist William Satire, "The concentration of power--political, corporate, media, cultural--should be anathema to conservatives."

An illustration of the power of these massive corporations in control of the nation's media is the indecency crusade now taking place against any program on the public airwaves. The FCC, originally set up simply to organize and regulate the channels of communication, has taken upon itself--with a big assist from Congress--to become the nation's censor regarding moral issues, including language and nudity. Emboldened with congressional support during an election year, the FCC now is making noises about extending this iron hand over what we can see and hear on cable and satellite as well. All of this is being done in the name of protecting our children from indecent words and actions on television. Today, this may involve the repression of language and action. Tomorrow, the sky is the limit--any opinion that offends a sizable minority or a silent majority could be in jeopardy. If you think that's an exaggeration, talk to frightened broadcasters throughout the country.

The FCC is muscling on-the-air media either to fall in line or suffer severe financial consequences. A look at radio demonstrates what could happen to television. The FCC has given away the nation's radio airwaves to a few corporate owners and they have homogenized and censored what we hear throughout the country. The most obvious example: When the FCC fined Clear Channel Communications $495,000 because Howard Stern made some so-called "indecent" comments, the giant corporation dropped him from their six stations. The media have long libeled Stern by labeling him a "shock jock"--you cannot see or hear Stem's name without that ridiculous appellation to follow. It is journalism of the worst kind--putting a label on someone so often that the public accepts the term as true, whether it is or not.

The sensational title is just plain wrong. Stem may be many things, but he is first and foremost a comic genius, a magnificent interviewer, and a provocateur who has brought an unparalleled frankness to the punic airwaves. His major goal is not to examine sexual mores, but to expose and satirize the phoniness prevalent throughout the mass media.

He may well cover taboo subjects, usually sexual in nature, that have not been heard on radio, but no one else brings such a keen wit and freshness to old subjects and few are as honest and forthright as this commentator who may at times shock, but has long ceased being any kind of a disc jockey (hence the derivation of the phrase "shock jock").

Since Clear Channel and the FCC have kicked Stem off the air, his ratings have soared in his other markets. There is no other entertainer, with the possible exception of Oprah Winfrey, who wields Stem's influence. He has been fighting the FCC ever since the members decided to single him out for retribution (there is nothing more odious than selective prosecution). He always has been political and even has influenced elections in New York and New Jersey. So, it is no surprise that Stem is not taking any of this lying down. He has gone on the of fensive, taking on Pres. Bush as well as the FCC. As one commentator put it, "In Stem's view, he is the victim of a witch hunt, singled out by an Administration in the grip of fundamentalist Christian ideologues bent on morality regulation."