Talk Nation Radio for December 3, 2009
Josh Stearns on the Proposed Comcast/NBC Merger
And why it’s Bad for America
Free Press Stages an Uprising Against a Mega-Merger in Media Power. We hear the details from Josh Stearns, Program Director at Free Press, FreePress.net.
He explains that Free Press has another letter writing campaign, this time to get President Obama to make good on a campaign pledge to act against an excess of power in the hands of any one corporation, interest or small group. Free Press has held many highly successful campaigns to win significant battles against media consolidation and give Americans a seat at the table at FCC and other government hearings.
We discuss what Obama said in 2008 about Net Neutrality and Media Diversity. A clip of President Obama’s exciting promises on media reform is posted on the FreePress.net web site. One year after these comments, we are witnessing an attempt at the biggest mega merger yet between Comcast and NBC, two giants.
Free Press is calling on President Obama to step in and block this merger. Josh Stearns also explains why we need public challenges to media monopoly. He discusses what groups are doing to provide citizen data bases and expert experience as they build community involvement in media. He hopes they will also work with community radio and independent media organizations like Democracy Now, Pacifica, Free Speech Radio News, and others, to expand their voice. See Public Insight Journalism, Media Consortium, and Freepress.net/Comcast.
Free Press Stages an Uprising Against a Mega-Merger in Media Power.
Produced by Dori Smith
TRT: 29:23 music fades
Download at Pacifica’s Audioport here
or at Radio4all.net and Archive.org
Josh Stearns is Program Director at Free Press, FreePress.net. We talk about the Free Press letter writing campaign to get President Obama to make good on a campaign pledge to act against an excess of power in the hands of any one corporation, interest or small group. We discuss what Obama said in 2008 about Net Neutrality and Media Diversity. A clip posted on FreePress.net shares the exciting promises, one year after the fact and as we see the biggest mega merger yet about to take place. Free Press is calling on Obama to step in.
You can find more information at FreePress.net/Comcast and at FreePress.net or
The Media Consortium
Comcast would control the mega giant MSNBC network of programming including Bravo, E!, and Universal Pictures. According to Free Press this will mean they can raise prices for competitors, and those price increases will be passed on to consumers. They are also worried about fewer choices for consumers, and we know what that means during election time in this age of billion dollar Presidential campaigns. An ever smaller focus for news and discussion about candidates and issues.
* We discuss the Uprising Campaign against what Free Press calls a Mega-Merger in media power. What it would mean in terms of media access and news coverage.
* The Free Press challenge to President Barack Obama. They are asking the President to make good on his 2008 campaign pledges to act against excesses of power in the hands of any one media corporation, interest or small group.
* And we look at Marc Cooper’s report at Free Press on anti trust laws and other topics. Could a legal case stop the merger?
See: FreePress.net/Comcast
· SavetheInternet.com
· SaveTheNews.org
· StopBigMedia.com
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