I am sitting in the panel discussion A View from Washington: Winning a Better Media for Everyone at YearlyKos, with FCC Commissioner Michael Copps. His talk got a standing ovation from a lot of us, and I wanted to let dKos know about some of the major points he made, especially the call for the public to oppose the pending merger of Dow Jones/WSJ and NewsCorp...
Copps called this action and the overall issue of media consolidation necessary to keeping our democracy alive.
The commissioner also said he "had a feeling" that a big push for further smoothing the way for further consolidation, especially in the online realm, will come sooner rather than later, hence the sense of urgency in his call. He is trying to make sure we are prepared.
We have discussed these things now and again, but as Commissioner Copps said, we will be required to rise up and make our voices heard like we have never done before to help avert the worst excesses desired by the big media corps.
I write this diary so the message of fighting (and reversing) further consolidation of our means of getting information in the hands of a couple of entities who do not have the citizen's interest at heart doesn't get caught in the "candidate wars" going on at dKos right now. Apologies for the lack of fluid prose, I have never "live blogged" before.
This transcends any need to score points for your favored presidential candidate. Please look into this issue and consider taking action without regard to any specific candidate, please.
Go to freepress.net for information, news and actions to take.
Thank you for reading, and hello from Chicago!
Update: Link to PDF of press release [thanks Biologist!]
Update 2: Link and quote from Copps on NewsCorp deal:
Copps on Dow Jones deal:
"It’s interesting to hear the ‘experts’ claim the transaction faces no regulatory hurdles. Not so fast! This deal means more media consolidation and fewer independent voices, and it specifically impacts the local market in New York City."
[thanks KingOneEye!]