Fox and Big Media

The dangers of increasing consolidation within the media are becoming more apparent by the day, as this week's debut of "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism" has led to a national debate over the role of corporate ownership of news organizations and the quality of the news that millions of Americans rely on every day. Fewer companies than ever control what we see, read, and hear. Corporate conglomerates focus almost exclusively on attaining higher ratings - not delivering critical information that the American public needs to make informed decisions. How has this come to pass? The government not only let it happen, but actively encouraged it.

• FCC regulations should promote media diversity, not corporate profit. Led by FCC Chairman Michael Powell, the Bush administration has enthusiastically supported the lobbying efforts of large media companies to weaken important, long-standing rules that ensured news organizations acted in the public interest. While profit margins for media conglomerates have risen exponentially, the cost to the American public has been incalculable.
• Responsible media rules help capitalism and encourage entrepreneurship. Encouraging diverse media ownership sparks both innovation and healthy competition. Media giants like Rupert Murdoch should not have their empires protected by currying favor from government and shaping media policy for personal gain. It is fundamentally un-American to have a system where healthy, vigorous competition is not allowed to flourish at the expense of choice, balance, and quality programming.
• The public deserves a diverse media. The greatest democracy in the world deserves the greatest media system. Yet surveys indicate that public trust of the media is at an all-time low. As the FCC shows no signs of reversing its zeal for deregulation, the public must act to demand more of its public officials. Unprecedented, bipartisan outrage over last year’s FCC’s rollback of limitations on the size of media companies prompted Congress to take action and has helped elevate media policy as a core concern for progressives across the nation.

Daily Talking Points is a product of the Center for American Progress, a non-partisan research and educational institute committed to progressive principles for a strong, just and free America.