FCC plans draw fire: Democrats bash media ownership studies

[DeepModem Mom]

Variety: FCC plans draw fire
Dems bash media ownership studies
By WILLIAM TRIPLETT

As part of its current review of media ownership rules with an eye toward loosening them -- which already has sparked heated controversy -- the FCC announced plans to conduct 10 economic studies on the issue.

But the agency's two Democratic commissioners immediately attacked the plans as inadequate and secretive.

Studies will focus on individual topics such as the impact of ownership on programming; the relationship between cross-ownership and news reporting; and the status of minority ownership.

Announcement, issued Wednesday, identified study authors, who will include academics, FCC officials and the Nielsen organization. All studies will be peer-reviewed, the agency said.

"Today's announcement of the commission's new media ownership studies, unfortunately, raises more questions in the public's mind than it answers," commissioner Michael J. Copps said in a statement. "How were the (authors) selected for the outside projects? How much money is being spent on each project -- and on the projects collectively? What kind of peer-review process is envisioned?"...

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117954510.html?categoryid=18&cs=1

[AspenRose]

1. Jonathan Adelstein was on Ed Schultz today

He's an FCC Commissioner (Democrat).

He's not terribly happy about all this.

[Stargazer99]

2. In the day's of my youth corporate America was not able to own

diviseried enitities. They were by law forced to stay with whatever type of service of business they incorporated under. Now they own anything there money buys and control, dominate in the process to the destruction of our health and enviroment. Our forefathers WARNED us about corporate control. The control of corporations and the king was what our forefathers were trying to get away from in Jolly Old England and here we are controlled by the same. The common man's education is a farce...we are taught only what contributes to the system with no questions to be asked.

[Guaranteed]

5. Not to be a jerk...

But I don't think corporations existed back in the 1700's.

I understand what you're saying, though- money, power.

[ima_sinnic]

6. see The Corporation--you'd be surprised (n/t)

[Guaranteed]

7. I own it, have watched it a number of times.

I was under the impression that corporations were created in the 1800's as part of the government to enable regulation of business. Were they around earlier?

[papau]

8. Corporations in the Roman Empire were more like partnership investment

vehicles. But Charters - grants of power from the government to a group of people - is a very old concept.

New to the US and the world is the idea that charters can not be revoked or be time limited, albeit time limited was not really practiced that much, with the alleged oldest commercial corporation in the world still working being the Stora Kopparberg mining community in Falun, Sweden which obtained a charter from King Magnus Eriksson in 1347.

Very new to corporations is the idea is the limited liability with rights of a person concept which dates from no law at all - it is based on an error by a clerk in written notes put on a case document in the Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company (1886) USSC decision, the notes never being reviewed by the chief judge because he was ill.

But that is how corporations became people and got the right to free speech and unlimited political contributions.

The good old days of US Corporate law (pre-1980's) that focused on protection of the public interest, and not on the interests of corporate shareholders, is gone. States no longer closely regulate Corporate charters, and forming a corporation does not required an act of the legislature. Investors no longer must be given an equal say in corporate governance, and corporations are not required to comply with the purposes expressed in their charters. Good thing too, or we'd have a bunch of businesses organized as Trusts instead of corporations - like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller for their businesses so as to avoid the above restrictions.

[snowbear]

3. Did anyone here anything about Mit Romney being somehow associated..

..with this whole Clear Channel buy out?

There's a thread over on Big Ed's board. Evidently, Romney co-founded the company buying out Clear Channel..

Does anyone here know about his association? If not, I'll try to find the thread at Ed's place.

[Royal Sloan 09]

4. Corporate Media Questions

The government wants to investigate the ownership of Corporate Media and the FCC is obstructing the process with studies now. FCC wants the ownership rules reduced, allowing for more monopolies of the news/media. Bad news for the people, good news for rich corporate media moguls.

[depakid]

9. What about the studies that were already completed

and suppressed.

The FCC is going to lose in court on these new rules- because they're an abuse of discretion.

[ClassWarrior]

10. These two commissioners are heroes.

They've been travelling around the country holding hearings about the media. We need to support them.

NGU.