Media Mergers: Will candidates come out against ABC/Comcast?

[Armstead]

Okay, a huge media merger has dropped into the picture. Comcast -- the nations largest cable company -- wants to take over the Disney

We all know -- and many have complained -- about the effects of media concenmtration.

Well here's a chance for the remaining Democratic candidates to put their money where their mouth is.

Will any speak out against this, and fight it? or will it slip below the cracks, while people posture against a flash of janet jackson's mammary.

This should be a huge issue in the campaign. A few months ago it looked like it might. Now...well, we'll see if this gets mentioned by any of the candidates., I sure hope so.

http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/040211/15/3hy5e.html

Thursday February 12, 3:25 AM
Consumer Groups Warn Of Media's Grip If Comcast Gets ABC


By Donna Fuscaldo
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Should Comcast Corp. (CMCSA, CMCSK) prevail in its quest to merge with Walt Disney Co. (DIS), it would gain control of the ABC network, leading some consumer groups to warn of media concentration that could limit the choices for consumers.

"If this deal goes through, it tightens the ownership grip over the most important sources of news, information and entertainment in our country," said Gene Kimmelman, senior public policy director for Consumers Union, a Washington, D.C., trade group, in a press release Wednesday.

A merger of Comcast, the country's largest cable company, and Disney, will further the consolidation in the industry that has led to less competition and higher rates for consumers, said Kimmelman.

Earlier Wednesday, Philadelphia-based Comcast offered to buy Disney in a deal valued at $54 billion based on Tuesday's closing stock price. Although a merger is far from being inked, if Comcast prevails it will control such media properties as ESPN, ABC Family and ABC.

According to the Consumers Union, Comcast serves 21.3 million of the nation's 72 million cable subscribers, while the ABC network reaches 25% of the population via news stations in New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The group said the merger raises significant issues about what consumers will watch on TV and how much they will pay to view it. Kimmelman pointed to News Corp.'s (NWS) recent announcement that it will raise rates for DirecTV as a pitfall of a content company owning a distributor.

"He (Rupert Murdoch founder of News Corp.) is not going to use satellite TV to compete against cable and lower prices, but rather, raise prices," said Kimmelman.

[WilliamPitt]

1. Kucinich will tomorrow

Trust me. :)

[BootinUp]

2. Insider information - busted

:)

[Armstead]

4. That goes without saying

Kucinich is the only one you can trust to deal with such things honestly.

Dean might.

[Turkw]

3. See what happens to them if they do!

media bastards.

[GainesT1958]

5. I guess this new combined Mega-Media Giant...

Would be able to show BOTH of Janet Jackson's boobs, huh? :eyes:

(But NOT on the Disney Channel, of course!)

B-)

[KoKo]

6. I can't believe this won't flag "Anti-Trust Violation" in Congress, but do

we still have the Anti-Trust Laws? :crazy: I don't know, anymore. Maybe the Bushistas did away with them in one of their mid-night votes last Fall. I imagine they will try to push what they can through this year as a "last ditch effort" because both Dean and Kerry have said they would support some form of re-regulation. Of course that would be impossible when the cow's out of the barn already. Just like them undoing all that work we did trying to thwart Powell's FCC de-reg plans which are already in a bill which may have been passed, too.

ARGHHHHHHHH!

[Armstead]

7. The Democrats should make this a big issue

If they ignore it, that will be anotehr justification for the anger that many feel,

[ThirdWheelLegend]

8. I imagine Kucinich will have a strong statement on the issue...

That is right on the money and stresses a plan to resolve these types of airwave destroying mergers.

Then next week Dean will say something vague about it and all the major networks will cover it.

:P

TWL

[KoKo]

10. The problem is that Dean did make Media Dereg an issue and look what

it got him! I've heard that Roy Disney still owns alot of Disney stock and since he's been really unhappy with Eisner, I wonder if he approves the Comcast take over, or he can hold out with the Board to nix the deal.

The other factor is "boomer" sentiment about this. It may get alot of media attention because going after Disney is sort of like seeing an a family one grew up with being attacked by an outsider.

It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. I don't have high hopes, but perhaps more people will wake up and start to see how this dereg is affecting our whole country and causing more and more economic upheaval.

And, to see if Kerry will mention it or leave it as an "untouchable" issue.

[NashVegas]

12. Text Here

MATTHEWS: Travel, the Democrats’ Ted Kennedy was part of that deregulation, the deregulation of radio. There are so many things that have been deregulated. Is that wrong trend and would you reverse it?

DEAN: I would reverse in some areas.

First of all, 11 companies in this country control 90 percent of what ordinary people are able to read and watch on their television. That’s wrong. We need to have a wide variety of opinions in every community. We don’t have that because of Michael Powell and what George Bush has tried to do to the FCC.

MATTHEWS: Would you break up Fox?

(LAUGHTER)

MATTHEWS: I’m serious.

DEAN: I’m keeping a...

MATTHEWS: Would you break it up? Rupert Murdoch has “The Weekly Standard.” It has got a lot of other interests. It has got “The New York Post.” Would you break it up?

DEAN: On ideological grounds, absolutely yes, but...

(LAUGHTER)

MATTHEWS: No, seriously. As a public policy, would you bring industrial policy to bear and break up these conglomerations of power?

DEAN: I don’t want to answer whether I would break up Fox or not,

because, obviously

(CROSSTALK)

MATTHEWS: Well, how about large media enterprises?

DEAN: Let me-yes, let me get...

(LAUGHTER)

DEAN: The answer to that is yes.

I would say that there is too much penetration by single corporations in media markets all over this country. We need locally-owned radio stations. There are only two or three radio stations left in the state of Vermont where you can get local news anymore. The rest of it is read and ripped from the AP.

MATTHEWS: So what are you going to do about it? You’re going to be president of the United States, what are you going to do?

DEAN: What I’m going to do is appoint people to the FCC that believe democracy depends on getting information from all portions of the political spectrum, not just one.

MATTHEWS: Well, would you break up GE?

(APPLAUSE)

DEAN: I can’t-you...

MATTHEWS: GE just buys Universal. Would you do something there about that? Would you stop that from happening?

DEAN: You can’t say-you can’t ask me right now and get an answer, would I break up X corp...

MATTHEWS: We’ve got to do it now, because now is the only chance we can ask you, because, once you are in, we have got to live with you.

(LAUGHTER)

DEAN: No.

MATTHEWS: So, if you are going to do it, you have got to tell us now.

(CROSSTALK)

MATTHEWS: Are you going to break up the giant media enterprises in this country?

DEAN: Yes, we’re going to break up giant media enterprises. That doesn’t mean we’re going to break up all of GE.

What we’re going to do is say that media enterprises can’t be as big as they are today. I don’t think we actually have to break them up, which Teddy Roosevelt had to do with the leftovers from the McKinley administration.

(CROSSTALK)

MATTHEWS: ... regulate them.

DEAN: You have got to say that there has to be a limit as to how-if the state has an interest, which it does, in preserving democracy, then there has to be a limitation on how deeply the media companies can penetrate every single community. To the extent of even having two or three or four outlets in a single community, that kind of information control is not compatible with democracy.

[stickdog]

9. Yeah, that worked REALLY well for Dean.

Didn't it?

[NashVegas]

11. What Would Be Even More Interesting

To see if we can find what comments they may have made when Murdoch took over DirectTV and compare them to this situation.

[Monte Carlo]

13. Making an enemy of big media can be dangerous.

If I were a candidate, I might want to encourage the rivalries between the media companies, or I might want to point out specific, tangible faults with the proposed plan. Taking them head-on is dangerous, for they are powerful.

[JaneQPublic]

14. To paraphrase Mark Twain...

It's not smart to pick fights with people who buy ink by the barrel.

[Armstead]

15. Who owns this country?

I believe if politicians (particularly Democratic ones, but Republicans too) stood up to Big Media in a unified way, they could bring this mess under control.

This idea that we can't offend the media barons is what has caused many of the problems we have today.

We need some Teddy Roosevelt Big Sticks here.

[ShimokitaJer]

16. I know ONE candidate who won't say a damn word

"As John Kerry's campaign to secure the Democrat nomination - and with it a crack at the White House - continues to gather pace, it has emerged that it is being bankrolled by key executives from News Corporation, MTV-owner Viacom and Sony."

http://media.guardian.co.uk/city/story/0,7497,1144464,00.html

[Armstead]

17. Yup

Foxes guarding the henhouse and all that