Congressional & Grass Roots Resistance Builds Against Media Conglomerates
November 6, 2003
University Park, Pa. -- Bipartisan resistance in Congress, fueled by fervent grass roots opposition, is mounting against efforts of media conglomerates to grow even bigger, a trend that poses a clear threat to a democratic society, according to two Penn State media experts.
A three-part ruling by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in early June would greatly increase the monopolizing potential of major media companies such as Time Warner, Viacom, Disney and "new kid on the block" NBC Universal, allowing them to swallow up smaller competitors and exercise increasing powers of communication control, even to the point of censorship, says Dr. Jeanne Lynn Hall, associate professor of communications.
Hall and Dr. Ronald V. Bettig, associate professor of communications, are co-authors of the book, "Big Media, Big Money: Cultural Texts and Political Economics" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003).
This ruling by the FCC, chaired by Republican Michael K. Powell, is supported by the Bush administration but has been met with resistance even by Republican legislators, who fear its repercussions for freedom of public expression, adds Bettig. On Sept. 16, the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate voted 55 to 40 to strike down the FCC deregulation. The vote represents only the second time in American history that the Senate has used a parliamentary practice called the "resolution of disapproval" to nullify an action taken by a regulatory agency, Bettig and Hall say.
"Along with the current bipartisan resistance in Congress, more than a million people have contacted their congressional legislators to block the rule changes proposed by the FCC," Bettig notes. "Groups as diverse as the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the National Organization for Women (NOW) have expressed opposition to the rulings. This mobilization of public outcry against media monopoly is the most significant in three decades and signifies the first backlash against President Bush by his own party."
The first part of the FCC ruling would permit one media company to own both a broadcast station and a newspaper in most cities. The second part would allow a media company to own up to eight radio and three TV stations, as well as a cable company, in the largest markets.
"Already, Clear Channel owns over 1,000 radio stations nationwide and thus is in an excellent position to control the content and slant of the news as well as blacklist any artists such as the Dixie Chicks who make even the most oblique criticisms of the Bush administration," Hall says.
The third part of the ruling would permit broadcast networks to acquire television stations that reach as many as 45 percent of the nation's households, up from 35 percent now.
"Viacom and News Corp. are already breaking that rule because they're up to around 40 percent," says Bettig. "And the government is notoriously reluctant to force corporations to divest."
"A genuine democracy requires an informed citizenry with access to a wide range of information and culture," Hall notes. "Current interconnections among big media, big business, government and education reflect capitalism's trend toward concentration of wealth and power into the hands of a few, posing a serious threat to democratic communications."
Despite widespread resistance to deregulation, efforts to enact the ban have been blocked, and Congress may not consider limits on the new media ownership rules until next year.
"Opponents of media consolidation will have to mobilize yet again to have their voices heard over those of Big Media," says Bettig. Groups such as Radio Prometheus and Free Press are already poised to do so, he adds.
**pab**