I’m furious with the FCC. As are so many people. Despite such overwhelming public comment that their lines of communication were jammed, despite major groups filing opposing views, despite the obvious reasons to maintain the current rules, they are now allowing huge media conglomerates to snap up television and radio stations as if they were candy.
The major reason the FCC Republicans and the media companies give for this is the proliferation of cable and internet. They insist that cable television provides the local focus and diversity necessary for a sustained, informed democracy. Just one little thing – all those cable channels are also owned by the same companies. Oh, and one other thing – there is a major difference between cable and regular over-the-air broadcasts: you have to pay for cable. Despite appearances, not everyone in this wealthy, vibrant economy can afford cable, satellite, or internet. But the media moguls cry foul, making it seem as if everyone has that kind of access and the result is less profits for media behemoths. Bastards. They feel it’s necessary to make even more money from the publicly owned airwaves, and the FCC lackeys agree, having been wined and dined by these corporations and shrugging off the protests and comments of the public they are supposed to serve.
We’ve reached a nadir in our government, a system that is supposed to be by the people and for the people. Increasingly, the people have little influence and no impact as corporations now rule the roost with large campaign donations and junkets to golf resorts. Welcome to the new United States.
When the election rolls around and you discover that there’s nothing but crap on every TV channel, that the TV news guys all parrot the same worthless opinions and waste time with “fork in your eye” stories, remember that it was a party-line vote. You can thank the Republicans for causing this state of affairs.
