Do you want to know what's wrong with the media? Competition. Competition. Competition. It inhibits one of the alleged tenets of journaliss - which is to be a watchdog and operate in the public interest.
One thing I am perferctly willing to lay at the feet of Pres. Bill Clinton is passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. What did that little gem do?
Notably broadcasters have substantial regulatory relief from old and sometimes outmoded federal restrictions on station ownership requirements. Broadcast ownership limits on television stations have been lifted. Group owners can now purchase television stations with a maximum service area cap of 35% of the U. S. population, up from the previous limit of 25% established in 1985. Limits on the number of the radio stations that may be commonly owned have been completely lifted, though the bill does provide limits on the number of licenses that may be owned within specific markets or geographical areas. Also amended are previous restrictions on foreign ownership of stations
It's centralized ownership and given the U.S. a paucity of diverse voices. In short, it allows corporations to control the message. So what has also done? Allowed TV networks to buy cable networks. Now, you might ask what that means? That means that newsworthy items, even from other networks, sometimes don't get any play.
Behind 9-11 rememberances yesterday the biggest news was Sarah Palin's moose-in-the-headlights look as she tried to bullshit her way through the interview.
So what do we get on Morning Shmoe and the other networks? Hardly a mention of it. Being a member of the media I can tell you why: no one likes to get beat on a story. Yet, when this story is so important to the well being and future of this country you think these bastards would grow some stones and report the news. Whether they get it or someone else gets it, it's still news.
It should be lower on the list of priorities should Obama win the presidency, but he she repeal portions of the telecom act related to ownership rules. Better still, ban corporate ownership of the media and make it non-for-profit. Perhaps that will force some of these media outlets to do their jobs.