mediageek

Category: media ownership & consolidation

  • One Hour Left To Phone Congress to Restore Some Media Ownership Limits

    Just received this from Robert McChesney: >Today is a critical moment in the effort to roll back the FCC media ownership rules. Your voice is needed. This afternoon, the House of Representatives will vote on H.R. 2799 to roll back one of the three ownership rules – the national television cap. Even if it passes,…

  • More Motion to Delay and Block New Media Ownership Rules

    Just to show you that our elected representatives aren’t 100% bought-and-paid -for, there are thirty-five Senators trying to use a little-known maneuver to block the implementation of the FCC’s new loosened media ownership rules. According to the Washington Post, “A ‘resolution of disapproval,’ which is permitted under the Congressional Review Act, has been placed on…

  • Call Congress To Roll Back FCC’s June 2 Changes

    Robert McChesney is sending around this message asking people to call their Congressional representatives to support legislation aimed at rolling back the FCC’s loosening of media ownership regulations. His new organization, Free Press, provides an easy way to get phone numbers and contact info, as well as providing sample scripts. A message from Robert McChesney…

  • Media Ownership Roundup on Special Mediageek Radio Show

    A special one-hour edition of the mediageek radio show will air this Monday, June 30 at 6:00 PM on community radio WEFT 90.1 FM, Champaign, IL. The show is a round-up of previous coverage on the FCC’s recent review and loosening of media ownership rules, along with updates on recent moves in Congress to modify…

  • Senate Commerce Committee OKs Media Rules Roll-back

    I received the following (mass-mailed) missive from Bob McChesney and the Free Press Media Reform Network: There was a significant victory in the Senate Commerce Committee Thursday, June 19, as it voted to overturn key elements of the corrupt FCC decision to loosen media ownership rules on June 2. It is due almost entirely to…

  • Checking the Nation’s Pulse on Media Regulation

    As we would hope, the Onion has its thermometer thrust deep into the American psyche and has accurately measured the populace’s temperature on the issue of media regulation. In their regular feature, “What Do You Think?” the perceptive Onion staff interview people in the street to gauge their thoughts on the important topics of the…

  • A Minor Rollback – Just for Show?

    Sen. McCain, the chair of the Senate’s Commerce Committee, said he’ll let the committee go forward in considering a piece of legislation that would rollback the FCC’s June 2 decisions on media ownership. Of course, he says he opposes it and wonders if it’ll hold up in the courts. Ya know, he might be right…

  • Hear the Sound of Sucking for Yourself

    John at DIYmedia spent the morning recording the audio from the FCC’s fateful media rules meeting and editing it down into choice chunks for our (dis)pleasure. He notes that the debate lasted only about 90 minutes, with the voting taking just a few more. Of course, no amount of debate was going to change the…

  • FCC Makes Expected Vote — the Big Media Get Bigger

    I just tuned in to CSPAN, too late to watch the FCC’s fateful meeting, but just after the Commissioners made their expected party-line vote, 3 to 2, to relax most of the media ownership rules in front of them. The national TV ownership cap was raised from 35% to 45%, and the cross-ownership rule, that…

  • McChesney Nails It: the Process, Deception and Stakes of Media “Deregulation”

    Communications Scholar and Activist Robert McChesney has put forth an abosutely clear, complete and concise run-down of the history and stakes of the FCC’s current media ownership rules review. In just one article he knocks home many of the issues and ideas that I’ve been trying to get at here on mediageek for the last…