Molly Ivins in her 10/25 column notes how media company margins have grown by cutting frills like foreign bureaus and other such trivia. “That the media have a public responsibility so important it is protected by the Constitution gets lost in the profit chase.” She notes as well, with some alarm, that our new FCC Commissioner is about to further deregulate the media.
Forbes magazine is predicting a merger frenzy in 2002 as Powell prepares to repeal the ban on crossownership of TV stations and cable operators in the same market, crossownership of TV and newspapers in one market, and the 30 percent cap, limiting one cable to 30 percent of the nation’s subscribers or 35 percent of the television audience. In a moment of painful irony Tuesday, Powell was discussing the need for back-up broadcasting capability after the World Trade Center attack knocked out many radio and television antennas, and said, “Public policy should minimize having all of your eggs in a single basket.”
Yes, Mr. Powell, it should.
While Freedom of the Press does not mean the government owes you a Xerox machine and coterie of paper boys, it’s still disturbing that we should see further consolidation and effectively less competition. Ironic, since Powell claims he’s just trying to let the free market work.