Can you believe only six companies own everything we see, hear and read? I have more cereal choices than that, something just isn’t adding up!
As the number of media companies shrink, so do the number of voices, minority owners, and local stories. Media consolidation hurts our democracy in a myriad of ways, and SPJ at UT says “STOP BIG MEDIA!” In December the FCC decided to relax a 30-year old ban put into place to restrict companies from cross owning newspapers and broadcast stations in the same market. The lift would further limit the diversity of news, owners and opinions. Taking a stand, SPJ President Jessi Propst and I visited Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) and with the help of media non-profit Free Press, hand delivered a petition with signatures of outraged citizens in District 21. The Senate passed a “Resolution of Disapproval” which would nullify the FCC’s disastrous rule change and these signatures represented our community’s plea to urge Rep. Smith to vote on this bill during the congressional session!
With the mission of SPJ in mind (Most notably: “To promote the free flow of information”, “To encourage diversity in journalism” and “To protect the First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and of the press”), Jessi and I, with hundreds of others around the country, let our local lawmakers know we are serious about media reform.
Media consolidation sounds like a boring, technical word you hear in Theories of Mass Comm. class, right? Well, learning about consolidation, media policy and the way the information system works will not only make you a more conscientious journalist but more critical citizen.
If you would like to learn more about consolidation and who own the media, here are a few links to check out:
Free Press
http://www.freepress.net/media_issues/consolidation
Stop Big Media.com
http://www.freepress.net/stopbigmedia
Who Owns What? CJR
Media Reform Info Center
http://www.corporations.org/media/
-by Mary Tuma, Former UT SPJ President 2007-2008
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