Dean Takes on Big Media
12/18/2003 @ 10:31pm
http://www.thenation.com/edcut/index.mhtml?pid=1140

Howard Dean is making the message of the media reform movement part of his campaign--not just calling for overturning the FCC rules but also calling for breaking up existing media conglomerates.

Listen to the front-running candidate on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews on December 1:

Matthews: There are so many things that have been deregulated. Is that a wrong trend and would you reverse it?

Dean: I would reverse it in some areas. First of all, eleven companies in this country control ninety percent of what ordinary people are able to read and watch on their television. That's wrong. We need to have a wide variety of opinions in every community. We don't have that because of Michael Powell and what George Bush has tried to do the FCC.

Matthews: As a public policy, would you bring industrial policy to bear and break up these conglomerations of power?...How about large media enterprises?

Dean: The answer to that is yes. I would say there is too much penetration by single corporations in media markets all over this country. We need locally-owned radio stations. There are only two or three radio stations left in the state of Vermont where you can get local news anymore. The rest of it is read and ripped from the AP.

Matthews: So what are you going to do about it? You're going to be President of the United States, what are you going to do?

Dean: What I'm going to do is appoint people to the FCC that believe democracy depends on getting information from all portions of the political spectrum, not just one.

Matthews: Are you going to break up the giant media enterprises in this country?

Dean: Yes, we're going to break up giant media enterprises. That doesn't mean we're going to break up all of GE. What we're going to say is that media enterprises can't be as big as they are today...To the extent of even having two or three or four outlets in a single community, that kind of information control is not compatible with democracy.

****

Breaking up media conglomerates is a campaign that millions of Americans--of all political stripes--are embracing. Perhaps the most hopeful example of this is a growing media democracy movement--working to reclaim the airwaves for citizens. Even mainstream media is waking up to the issue. Recently, Lou Dobbs of CNN announced the results of his online poll about media conglomerates. According to his survey, ninety-six percent of those polled said that big media conglomerates should be broken up. Only four percent were happy with them. Maybe this democratic revolution will be televised after all.

Truly good news.

Nice - If 2004 sees a president that knows a consolodated media is bad for democracy then we need to make a push for open spectrum as well. Think the RIAA monopolists are complaining now? Imagine in a few years that artists could do on the radio what they can now do on the internet.

"We don't have that because of Michael Powell and what George Bush has tried to do the FCC."
Uh. WTF? oward Dean sounds like he was stoned when he said this. The real poblem is that Dean is lying to us. He won't do a Damn thing to harm the media, at least the majority of it, he will only target FOX networks, because they are concervitive and he is a evil libral. I also don't like him because he is very wishy-washy, and of course if from the state of Iowa, if you've ever been to that state you know what I mean. I want big media to be broken up, riaa, mpaa, NBC, viacom, and clear channel, just to name a few. Also Howard Dean's party (DFL) is all about big government, government controol, Communism, Socialism, High Taxes, small military, elimination of the third admendment (right to bear arms), in fact they would like to iliminate all the admendmets including the first one; freedom of speech. They are the ones who passed DMCA, they are the evil, they are the enemy, they are with the enemy, they hate change, they are the summary of all evils. furious: librals

maybe i'll go get my american citizenship so I can vote for Dean.

Nothing like pissing off die hard conservatives like mtekk.