29th Street Ballroom
Fearing a Return of Monopolies
RECEIVED Mon., Nov. 19, 2007
Dear Editor,
In 1901 when Theodore Roosevelt assumed the office of president, one of his first tasks was to dismantle monopolistic corporations. Roosevelt believed that the government had the right to regulate big business to protect the welfare of society.
In 1934 the Communications Act enforced the policy of having every media outlet prove to the government that the service they provided was in the “public interests, convenience and necessity.” All of that changed in 1996 when the Republican Congress passed the Telecommunications Act and was signed by President Bill Clinton. The Republican Congress and both parties bowed to the lobbying of powerful media moguls. Economist and Nobel Laureate Robert Solow calls this “nothing less than elite plunder.” The redistribution of the wealth to the wealthy and the redistribution of the power to the powerful.
The media is a force that cuts to the very foundation of a democracy. When the information channels are choked and controlled by the rich and powerful and ignores the pleas of minorities, a free press no longer exists. Today a few powerful organizations now dominate the media landscape in America, and as ownership becomes more and more concentrated, fewer and fewer independent sources will survive. This small group of elites will determine what the public will or will not hear, read, and see. Bill Moyers calls this “censorship of knowledge” and is driven by unaccountable executives whose primary goal is increasing profits.
A monopoly is described as a single seller in a given industry. Being a single seller, by itself, is neither good nor evil; it depends how one gained that single status. Did one obtain that status by competition in the free market, or did one obtain it by political pull, lobbying? If such status is obtained through competition in the free market, then the monopoly, the successful business, is good. If the status is obtained using the government, to force one's competition out of business, then the monopoly is evil. If we allow the current trend of “media consolidation” to continue, I fear a return of these monopolies.
In 1901 when Theodore Roosevelt assumed the office of president, one of his first tasks was to dismantle monopolistic corporations. Roosevelt believed that the government had the right to regulate big business to protect the welfare of society.
In 1934 the Communications Act enforced the policy of having every media outlet prove to the government that the service they provided was in the “public interests, convenience and necessity.” All of that changed in 1996 when the Republican Congress passed the Telecommunications Act and was signed by President Bill Clinton. The Republican Congress and both parties bowed to the lobbying of powerful media moguls. Economist and Nobel Laureate Robert Solow calls this “nothing less than elite plunder.” The redistribution of the wealth to the wealthy and the redistribution of the power to the powerful.
The media is a force that cuts to the very foundation of a democracy. When the information channels are choked and controlled by the rich and powerful and ignores the pleas of minorities, a free press no longer exists. Today a few powerful organizations now dominate the media landscape in America, and as ownership becomes more and more concentrated, fewer and fewer independent sources will survive. This small group of elites will determine what the public will or will not hear, read, and see. Bill Moyers calls this “censorship of knowledge” and is driven by unaccountable executives whose primary goal is increasing profits.
A monopoly is described as a single seller in a given industry. Being a single seller, by itself, is neither good nor evil; it depends how one gained that single status. Did one obtain that status by competition in the free market, or did one obtain it by political pull, lobbying? If such status is obtained through competition in the free market, then the monopoly, the successful business, is good. If the status is obtained using the government, to force one's competition out of business, then the monopoly is evil. If we allow the current trend of “media consolidation” to continue, I fear a return of these monopolies.
Dan Arellano