The Stable Of Cable As A Poster Child

THE STABLE OF CABLE AS A POSTER CHILD
[SOURCE: MediaChannel.org, AUTHOR: Danny Schechter]
The market is our icon and fetish built on the assumption that it acts freely, guided by an “invisible hand” in Adam Smith’s phrase, and always clear of external pressures except the occasional­and I would say systematic­acts of corruption. No one talks about what this word market really means or what its impact is. In theory, we have a market system that reflects the democratic impulses of buyers and sellers. In practice, there is nothing free about it. It is dominated and monopolized by a handful of companies who choke off real competition and exclude players who challenge their dominance. A “deregulated regime” guarantees market failure and all the problems that go along with it. Cable execs “understand” the concerns of their viewers and critics but please, they implore, Congress and the FCC don't regulate, don't impose public interest obligations, don't insist on more diversity or kids fare or honest news, don't assure the continuing presence of public access programming, and most of all, don't do anything that will stop the revenues flowing into huge media combines as Americans pay more and more for cable and entertainment and often get less and less. What we need is more regulation in the public interest and rules to insure that the needs of viewers come before the needs of advertisers and highly paid cable executives.
http://www.mediachannel.org/wordpress/2007/05/14/the-stable-of-cable-as-...