In 1983, 90% of media was owned by 50 companies. Now it is owned by 6 companies.

[dixiegrrrrl]

whose shareholders vastly overlap.
something to think about when you turn on your tv.

[Hortensis]

1. Proof we successfully got off the backs of business.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. "To keep information from the public is the function of the corporate media."

"To keep information from the public is the function of the corporate media."
Gore Vidal, Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace

[Mnemosyne]

3. Gore Vidal knew what he was talking about. nt

[Zorra]

4. And this is exactly why MSM coverage of Bernie is almost non-existent. nt

[OnyxCollie]

5. Who could have predicted that Clinton's signing of the Telecom Deregulation Act would lead to this?

Everyone.

Signed, OnyxCollie, whose radio station was purchased by Clear Channel, burdened with debt from all of Clear Channel's other purchases, driven into the ground, and then sold off to another company that flipped the format, ending OnyxCollie's career in commercial radio.

[FlatBaroque]

6. F'ing brutal

That sucks.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

7. I'm intrigued. What did you do before the format was flipped and to what format was it flipped? nt

[OnyxCollie]

8. I worked at a radio station in the "Rock and Roll Capitol of the World."

Most often one has to move to BFE to get a job in radio, but I was able to get a job in a Top 20 market without having to relocate.

I worked at WENZ 107.9 FM for five years, starting off as a board operator and ending with my own two-hour electronic music show, Digital Domain, where I had carte blanche to play whatever I wanted, often using my playlist to tell a story.

I just learned while writing this post that there was a movie made about The End; meet the people I worked with:

http://www.imdb.com/video/withoutabox/vi1275003417?ref_=tt_pv_vi_aiv_1

Edit to add: It was sold to Radio One, who flipped the format to Hip Hop, invested money, and became successful.

[dixiegrrrrl]

9. Interesting to know that about you....so sorry.

Yeah, that is what the "vulture funds" have been doing for years.
Just like the Mafia used to "break out" businesses in a neighborhood.....invade at the point of a gun, make the owner take out massive loans, take all the profits, then torch the place for the insurance.

[DirkGently]

11. Wow. That's horrible.

Media consolidation has been a national disaster in so many ways.

[Enthusiast]

15. Thanks for sharing that.

[olddots]

10. Clear Channel pretty much ended music radio

but who needs art hey ?

[cer7711]

12. Thus Dies the Republic

Via manufactured consent.

[Live and Learn]

13. Thankfully they don't own the internet. Yet! nt

[Dont call me Shirley]

14. Sherman Anti-Trust Act! Enforce it!

[Snobblevitch]

16. It depends on how 'media' is defined.

There is print, broadcast, cable, internet, outdoor, hell, skywriting. But if the definition is about broadcast, the blame is squarely on the Telecommunications Act of 1996, signed of course, by Bill Clinton.