Big-Media Critics Needn't Worry So Much

BIG-MEDIA CRITICS NEEDN'T WORRY SO MUCH
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Alan Murray]
[Commentry] For those who worry about the pernicious effects of "big media," today is a big day. The Federal Communications Commission once again is launching an effort to ease rules that restrict media concentration, including one that prohibits newspapers and broadcast stations in the same city from owning each other. The rules were written back when "cable" was used to tow cars and "the net" went next to the fishing box. Opponents launched a pre-emptive attack against the FCC yesterday, unveiling a new Web site, StopBigMedia.com. Backed by groups ranging from the Consumer Federation of America to the National Council of Churches, the coalition urges visitors to "fight back" and help "save your local media from corporate control." Murray writes that he will not sign up. "On the list of things that keep me awake at night, "media concentration" ranks pretty low. "Media proliferation," on the other hand, ranks higher. I am perplexed by the amazing array of ways that purveyors of media have found to get inside my head and, even more so, the heads of my teenage daughters. The girls take it in over their iPods and cellphones and satellite radio, or via computer from sites such as MySpace and YouTube (where even folks my age can enjoy Connie Chung's bizarre farewell performance on cable channel MSNBC.)" There is far more competition in the media industry than in, say, the automobile industry or the soft-drink industry or a dozen other industries. The reality is this: Access to the media is more open and democratic today than it ever has been in the history of the world.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115085009329185821.html?mod=todays_us_page_one
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