[opendtv] Re: Ted Turner on Media Consolidation
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2004 10:44:31 -0500
At 2:59 PM -0500 11/11/04, Cliff Benham wrote:
>http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0407.turner.html
>
In this feature Turner concludes:
>At this late stage, media companies have grown so large and
>powerful, and their dominance has become so detrimental to the
>survival of small, emerging companies, that there remains only one
>alternative: bust up the big conglomerates. We've done this before:
>to the railroad trusts in the first part of the 20th century, to Ma
>Bell more recently. Indeed, big media itself was cut down to size in
>the 1970s, and a period of staggering innovation and growth
>followed. Breaking up the reconstituted media conglomerates may seem
>like an impossible task when their grip on the policy-making process
>in Washington seems so sure. But the public's broad and bipartisan
>rebellion against the FCC's pro-consolidation decisions suggests
>something different. Politically, big media may again be on the
>wrong side of history--and up against a country unwilling to lose
>its independents.
This is an interesting analysis and conclusion. In essence, I took
advantage of the rules to build my empire, now we need to eliminate
them to give someone else a chance.
The notion that we can bust up these companies sounds appealing. We
did it to Ma Bell...RIGHT?
But Ma Bell has morphed into 3-4 regional monopolies that have as
much or more power than they had before. Witness the rapid
consolidation of mobile telephony into the hands of just a few
companies, mostly old RBOCS.
Just how would you tear these vertically integrated giants up and
restore a competitive marketplace? The answer is SO obvious.
Eliminate forms of integration that allow these giants to leverage
control of one industry to control another.
Just decouple content and carriage, and Ted will find his dreams
realized - one of the richest men in the world will get even richer
as the pieces of his empire (and the others) are sold...
Regards
Craig
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:
- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at
FreeLists.org
- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word
unsubscribe in the subject line.
Other related posts:
