"media industry giants have donated much more to Hillary Clinton than to any other candidate."

[marmar]

Democracy in Peril: Twenty Years of Media Consolidation Under the Telecommunications Act

Thursday, 11 February 2016 00:00
By Michael Corcoran, Truthout | News Analysis


Wall Street's sinister influence on the political process has, rightly, been a major topic during this presidential campaign. But, history has taught us that the role that the media industry plays in Washington poses a comparable threat to our democracy. Yet, this is a topic rarely discussed by the dominant media, or on the campaign trail.

But now is a good time to discuss our growing media crises. Twenty years ago this week, President Bill Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The act, signed into law on February 8, 1996, was "essentially bought and paid for by corporate media lobbies," as Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) described it, and radically "opened the floodgates on mergers."

The negative impact of the law cannot be overstated. The law, which was the first major reform of telecommunications policy since 1934, according to media scholar Robert McChesney, "is widely considered to be one of the three or four most important federal laws of this generation." The act dramatically reduced important Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations on cross ownership, and allowed giant corporations to buy up thousands of media outlets across the country, increasing their monopoly on the flow of information in the United States and around the world.

"Never have so many been held incommunicado by so few," said Eduardo Galeano, the Latin American journalist, in response to the act.

Twenty years later the devastating impact of the legislation is undeniable: About 90 percent of the country's major media companies are owned by six corporations. Bill Clinton's legacy in empowering the consolidation of corporate media is right up there with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and welfare reform, as being among the most tragic and destructive policies of his administration. ................(more)

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/34789-democracy-in-peril-twenty-years-of-media-consolidation-under-the-telecommunications-act

[Glamrock]

1. Well duh...

Scandal after scandal after fuckin scandal after hearing after fuckin scandal. True or not. And fucking impeachment of Clinton 2.0 The GOP strikes back! Oh yeah, I just can't wait.

On the upside, the Clintons back in the WH just might kill Limbaugh!

And then again, Bill O'Reilly promised to move to Ireland if we elect Bernie.

Who to vote for, who to vote for. Hey who's younger and gonna be around longer. O'Reilly?