Fact

[DainBramaged]

There are 1500 newspapers, 1100 magazines, 9000 radio stations, 1500 TV stations, and 2400 publishers owned by THREE corporations.


@injusticefacts



Do you now think the news is unbased? Anywhere? Anythine? By anyone?

[newfie11]

1. OMG

I knew it was bad but had no idea it was this bad.

[graham4anything]

2. Don't forget the one minute top of the hour news, and the hotel/restaurant default station

drive cross country, or north to south and most stations have a one minute news

the vast majority are the same company and it is always slanted to the rightwing

Go to any lobby of any hotel, majority have default set to Fox News
it takes something extra to turn it off, but it is there in the background if someone doesn't change it

Restaurants, diners and sport bars, the same

There is one diner in the five mile radius near me that only has Fox News on their tv
Time and again back in 2008, I asked them to change it.
They said it is set for that station. I asked again, they said NO it stays.
I didn't stay, I left and haven't been back but twice, when someone else in a group and they were paying, went there.

I told them all my displeasure and spent the meal commenting directly and loudly about what was on screen most of the time. And asked the waiter about it each time, and the owner/operator too.
And my last remark to them was, how much are you being paid to keep that on.
And he said nothing, he liked their station and I said, isn't President Obama great and that he will be easily reelected and left saying the Argo line to him. And blew him a kiss.
True story.
Next time someone insists on me going there, will tell them I am sick and can't go.
Plenty of other diners in the area, or other restaurants.

[Skittles]

3. I noticed that when I was on TDYs

the TVs in the hotel lobbies - the ones up high, for example, near the elevators - always set to Fox News

[Pool Hall Ace]

5. Sorry, I'm not up on my acronyms.

Does TDY = temporary duty, as in military? Our troops don't have to tolerate enough hazards, so they are subjected to nonstop Faux Noise?

[Skittles]

6. sorry; TDY is indeed temporary duty

and no doubt did originate in the military but is widely used in private corporations too

[Pool Hall Ace]

7. Ah! Still, travelers should have some options.

Listening to nothing but Fox News will turn a person into one of them.

[Bluenorthwest]

10. Here's a tactic for you, this works most places. FoxNews on a public TV...want it changed...

rather than ask them to switch it to 'Not Fox' because of Fox's politics, I go to management and say 'the news is fairly intense tonight, we have lots of kids here, do you think there is more appropriate family material, I mean those kids look too young to be hearing this story at all'.
Works like a charm. I used to ask them to put on CNN. Does not work. Asking for Cartoon Network works. 'Think of the children!!!!!'

[handmade34]

4. if interested

http://www.cjr.org/resources/

[valerief]

8. Wow. I remember back when it was 6. nt

[lunatica]

9. They keep absorbing each other like mercury droplets becoming One Big Blob

Pretty soon One Big Blob will own everything.

[mwooldri]

11. No news is unbiased, just the degree of it.

If you believe Wikipedia, Comcast states BBC World News is a very frequently requested channel, and on the cable systems where they do have BBC World News, "it is one of the highest performing news and information stations and has generated a large and positive response from customers." (Wiki quote). I think a lot of people on DU would say that the BBC demonstrates a fairer point and less biased point of view than the CNNs, MSNBC's and definitely the "Fox News"es of the world.

But I feel I need to pick apart on your facts on a subject I am familiar with... terrestrial broadcasting.

There are 14,728 AM & FM radio transmitters licensed in the USA. 3417 are educational. This leaves 11311 on a commercial license. Religious broadcasters (BBN, K-Love, etc) have a number of commercial licenses, as do some larger NPR-affiliated stations. There are smaller groups - not the Clear Channels (Bain), not the CBS's, nor the Cumuluses (Bain)... that have a good few stations, and I know stations that operate just as that station alone. That figure of 9000 to me is a bit on the high end.

TV - 1500? I think that's high end too, since there are 1774 full power TV stations, of which 392 are on an educational license. I know at least 250 stations that are not owned by one of those 3 corporations. This gets us to 1130-ish full power TV stations that could be owned by these three.

There are also 2172 low powered TV stations. Lots are for religious broadcasting, shopping at home channels, true proper home-town TV, and some are used by smaller TV companies to provide a major network station in a market that does not have that major network and not enough full-powered stations to give carriage to the Big 4. (Of course in digital, that's not so much of a problem).

I would believe these figures readily if it was not isolated to terrestrial broadcasting. Cable TV channels? yep. International assets? Yep. But not for US broadcast alone.

[DainBramaged]

12. Pick it with the folks who published the facts

As with 99% of OP's here, they are based on the work of others. SO get in touch with our friends at @injusticefacts and tell them they are wrong. They put this our for the world so I guess you have a gripe with them not me

https://twitter.com/InjusticeFacts

[mwooldri]

13. I guess I blather on a bit.

I just call this fact "mostly true". Yep, I have a minor gripe with them on accuracy, I get their point and yours - and I appreciate it Of course a tweet is limited to so much. What is definitely undisputed is that three corporations control the vast majority of media outlets in the USA, whatever numbers are put on it. That's too much control. I just follow what happens in broadcast media (technical and company ownership mainly) and it "got my goat". I apologize if this came as an attack against you, wasn't meant to be. But you gave me a good tweeter to follow, and thanks!

[skireports]

14. This is untrue. The numbers make it nearly impossible.

This is false now and was false when published originally. 9000 radio stations? Ok where are there 9000 radio stations? Not in the US. Pick any number it is impossible to prove any of the statements NONE are true.

(btw Dem member of THE media)

Here's a suggestion FACT CHECK.

[chollybocker]

15. Um...

United States

As of August 2007, the FCC had licensed 4779 AM stations and 9159 FM stations (6279 commercial and 2880 educational).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_USA_radio_stations#United_States

[MineralMan]

17. See my post below for 2013 figures. The numbers are higher.

The poster you're replying to is simply incorrect, even while insisting that he/she's an expert.

Google tells the story, through the FCC.

[MineralMan]

16. Actually, it is you who are incorrect.

According to the FCC, there are 15,258 licensed broadcast radio stations in the United States as of the end of 2013.

http://www.radiosurvivor.com/tag/number-of-radio-stations-in-the-united-states/

Fact checking is good. It took me less than 10 seconds to find that information, and demonstrate that it is you who are incorrect.

[DainBramaged]

21. It is amazing how they come out of the woodwork to dispute 'facts'

The 'pay for post model' is weak with this one. With the pending Comcast/Time Warner debacle I am sure the paid posters will be out in droves.


Hope you are well.

[MineralMan]

22. I'm as well as I can be.

At 68, that's always the case.

[hunter]

18. Clear Channel alone claims 1200.

Frankly I think anything but locally owned and programed terrestrial radio and television ought to be outlawed. These networks ought to be booted into space, cable, or onto the internet, with ZERO terrestrial broadcasting "network affiliates" or stations not locally owned.

With modern digital tools we might enjoy a truly democratic radio broadcast spectrum where anyone could establish a local radio or television station.

Decide how big you want to be, buy the transmitting equipment, provide the electricity, and wow, it "auto-magically" finds and claims an empty slot in the radio spectrum, registers it with the FCC, then go!

Hunter's local organic gardening and local music channel is live, with quirky public domain and Creative Commons science and science fiction for your late night and early morning enjoyment.

My mom was a local radio "celebrity" at a station that had it's own disc jockeys, news, and sales people, just like WKRP. Those days are gone.

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. 840 in the US, and that's the largest, so 9000 owned by 3 is way wrong

http://www.clearchannel.com/CCME/Pages/default.aspx 840
http://www.cumulus.com/local-radio-2/ 525
http://www.cbsradio.com/market 126

[hunter]

20. Yep, for "owned," maybe ought to be "news affiliates."

Possibly that number, is the source of the original statistic, "owned" was added for drama...

:sigh:

Fox News Radio claims "Over 1000 stations!" on their website (in air-quotes, just like that!)

http://affiliates.radio.foxnews.com