The purpose of the media, the press, is to be the unbiased source of information for the citizens. Americans would never accept government controlled media, for they would be assured that government would have no entity to police it.
Most of, if not all of the major dispersers of news in the United States are owned by corporate conglomerates. NBC and MSNBC are owned by General Electric, NBC Universal, & Comcast. Fox News & The Wall Street Journal are owned by News Corp. ABC is owned by the Walt Disney Company. CBS is majority owned by Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements. CNN is owned by Time Warner. Belo Corp owns many stations in many markets (e.g., TX, WA, AZ, LA, NC, VA, MO, KY, etc).
The fact sheet by Common Cause is a snapshot in time of just how few corporations have taken over our airwaves. The Columbia Journalism Review has a comprehensive resource with the list of owners and the media outlets they control (radio, television, newspaper, magazine, Internet). It is astounding that so few with similar interests control most of the information that Americans hear, see, or read.
It is no wonder that news in America is very similar. Inasmuch as America is the leader of the world, information from most of the world is absent. News is either Right Wing where truth and facts mostly seem like an afterthought or mainstream where a false sense of equivalency is given to the Liberal side or Conservative side of any argument.
It is now reported that the Koch brothers are looking to purchase several major American newspapers that include the Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, and the Los Angeles Times. The Nation reported the following from the Koch Brothers’ newsletter.
In his letter, sent to tens of thousands of employees through the Koch Industries’ “Discovery” newsletter, Koch warns that “November’s election results … are part of a trend that, if not reversed, will destroy the American dream.”
The letter hits familiar themes, claiming regulation and taxation will ruin the economy and posits Koch’s political intervention as our only savior. Koch also implies more big-money spending on campaigns and political groups, writing, “As a company, we are committed to doing what is right in every aspect of our business. That is why we will continue doing everything we can to persuade politicians to put what is good for the country first, before it is too late.”
The Koch brothers have been instrumental in supporting climate change denying groups. Inasmuch as their wealth under President Obama has skyrocketed and their businesses have improved as stated in their newsletter, they continue the attempt at continual governmental de-regulations. Their intent is obvious. They should be taken at their word. They will continue to use their financial influence and any signature newspapers or media they purchase to “persuade politicians to put what is good for the country first”. What the Koch brothers believe is good for the country is all the country has voted against. Their attempt now is to have mainstream media hold truth hostage.
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